


Angel Of Darkness

by ThomasJeffeson



Category: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra | Phantom of the Opera & Related Fandoms, Phantom of the Opera - Lloyd Webber
Genre: Angst, F/M, Obsessive Behavior, Possessive Behavior, Unrequited Love, if you're just an e/c shipper and hate raoul + r/c then this fic probably isn't for you lol, they'll be a lot of R/C and a lot of E/C
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-13
Updated: 2020-07-11
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:42:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 23,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24690982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThomasJeffeson/pseuds/ThomasJeffeson
Summary: Phantom Of The Opera Modern Day AU. Musical InspiredChristine works at a coffee shop and is also doing community theatre on the side. Her old friend Raoul has come back into town for School, he is excited to be reunited with Christine, but eventually, she grows distant from him again, refusing to speak to him without an explanation. Raoul is desperate to figure out who or what is holding Christine back.E/C And R/C.A modern retelling
Relationships: Christine Daaé/Erik | Phantom of the Opera, Raoul de Chagny/Christine Daaé
Comments: 10
Kudos: 18





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> In case anyone is wondering the ages Christine is 18, Raoul is 19, and Erik is in his early 30s. Enjoy :)

Raoul had just moved into his dorm, it was his big brother Phillipe that helped him move in. He felt both nervous and excited about this, he was studying to become a history teacher. He always could never figure out what he wanted to do for a career, he realized that what he most enjoyed in School was history and felt he would enjoy being able to teach it. He was nervous though, nervous to be away from his family, especially from Phillipe.

"How are you feeling?" Phillipe asked.

"I'm a little nervous, but mostly excited"

"Good, I'm gonna miss you little bro" Phillipe admitted.

Raoul laughed "I'm gonna miss you too"

Phillipe gave him a big hug "If you need anything just call me"

"Of course" Raoul said as they broke the hug.

"Have fun Raoul, but not too much fun" His brother warned.

"No promises" Raoul teased and Phillipe rolled his eyes.

"I gotta go now, once again if you need anything just call me" He reminded him, Raoul nodded with a thin smile.

After Phillipe left Raoul continued to unpack, he was lucky enough to have a single room he wouldn't have minded having a roommate, but he preferred not too. After awhile Raoul decided it was best to go for a walk, and maybe even get something to eat.

He was looking at google maps on his phone making sure he wouldn't get lost. Eventually, he found a cute little coffee shop he realized he certainly could go for a coffee and walked in. 

This is where he saw one of the waitresses washing a table and stared at her familiar face for a moment. Could it be? No, It couldn't possibly be? Christine?

She hadn't noticed him staring yet, he knew he had to approach her. It had been far too long since he has last seen her, his childhood sweetheart.

"Little Lotte?" He said. He cringed at himself, why didn't he just say her name instead of bringing up some old story of their childhood.

Christine turned around right away her expression containing both disbelief and something close to happiness "Raoul?"

"Christine" He smiled "It's wonderful to see you again"

"What are you doing here? You moved away" She furrowed her brows in confusion.

"I'm back here to attend college, I'm a history major" He told her.

"Oh, that's nice" She smiled, she moved onto a different table to wipe down and he followed.

"Are you in School?" He asked.

He saw a glimmer of sadness in her eyes and blush upon her cheeks "Um, no"

"Oh, that's ok" He felt awkward and hated himself for making her feel embarrassed, especially when there was nothing to be embarrassed about "Um, what have you been up to?"

She continued wiping the table"Nothing too exciting, just working here. I also do some work at this community theater it's a few blocks from here"

"Really? Please tell me you're doing musicals or something, you always had the voice of an angel" She blushed and this time her blush made him feel giddy inside.

"That is far from true, but yes we do musicals I am in the ensemble. I'm our star La Carlotta's understudy, but trust me Carlotta would never let anyone take her place" Christine giggled a little bit.

"That's wonderful, I'd love to be able to hear you sing again. I remember when we would have those picnics in the attic and you sang while your father played the violin" For a second he wondered if he should regret mentioning her father, but that thought went away when he saw her face.

Her eyes sparked up at the mention of him "Yes, oh how lovely those days were. And the tales he'd tell us"

"Like Little Lotte!" Raoul said enthusiastically. 

Christine nodded while smiling "No what I loved best Lotte said is when I'm asleep in my bed and the angel of music sings songs in my head"

"Christine get back to work!" They heard someone yelled and Christine's joyful childlike expression fell.

"That's my manager"

"I see, um may I have your number? I'd love to stay in touch" He felt nervous asking, not wanting to be rejected.

She took a pause before nodding "Um sure" she let out a breathy awkward laugh.

He smiled and gave her his phone so she could put in her number. After writing in her number she made her contact name 'Little Lotte" With a smile face.

Raoul grinned at the nickname "I'll talk to you soon"

She smiled and nodded, and continued to wipe down the table.

"Well, I'm gonna go get a little latte" He had no idea what complied him to make such a stupid joke, but it was worth it when he heard Christine's beautiful laugh.

....

During rehearsal, Christine's mind kept wandering to Raoul. It truly was nice to see him again, she always thought about him every now and then she regretted losing contact with him, but when her father became sick she became so focused on taking care of him, that eventually she just stopped talking to Raoul altogether. It would be nice to have a friend that remembered her father as the amazing musician and story-teller he was. Meg was her best friend and also roommate, but she only ever knew him as Christine's sick bed-ridden dad, not the true genius he was.

She wanted to be able to talk to her dad to people, and Raoul seemed to be the perfect person to do that. She was ready to talk about him, especially now since he had sent her the Angel Of Music just as he had promised he would.

Sometimes she wondered if she had lost her mind entirely, but she heard his voice clear as day and there was no mistaking that voice belonged to an angel. It was her angel, her angel of music.

"Christine, your singing has improved so much. I don't understand, do you have a tutor or something?" Meg asked her while they had a little break.

Christine desperately wanted to tell her friend of the angel of music, but she knew she couldn't. Meg would think she was insane.

"Um, I watch youtube tutorials" She lied.

"Really? Wow, you have to send me some of them" Meg insisted.

"Yeah, I'll do that after rehearsal " Christine told her.

Meg paused and looked at her friend thoughtfully "Are you ok? You seem a little distant today like your mind is somewhere else"

She wished to tell her of her reunion right then and there but was fearful of her angel hearing. Her angel was very strict, she remembered she simply flirted with one of the other boys in the ensemble and he got terribly upset swearing that he'd disappear forever If she continued such behavior. He told her about how boys would distract her from her singing, she couldn't imagine how upset he'd be if he found out that she reunited with her childhood sweetheart and wished to reconcile with him. 

She was about to tell her she'd tell her when she gets home but stopped herself. Could the angel hear her when they aren't in this theater? She had tried to speak to him outside of it but never got a response. Could it be possible that he was always with her? The thought made her shudder.

"Oh, I'm fine. Don't worry" She offered a fake smile, and Meg could do nothing but accept her answer.

Rehearsal continued, and Christine felt very tired. It was difficult to work at the coffee shop and then go to rehearsal. After that she could not even go home, she had her lesson with her angel, but that wasn't so bad.

When rehearsal Christine went to Meg "I'm gonna stay here a little longer to practice"

"You always stay here to practice, why can't you practice at home?" She asked.

"I just feel more comfortable practicing here" She shrugged.

Meg was about to say something, that's when her mother, Madame Giry came in.

"Meg, let it be" Madame Giry warned her.

Christine gave Madame Giry a thankful smile. She sometimes wondered if Madame Giry was aware of her angel, but was too afraid to ask. She was perfectly fine with Christine staying after rehearsal to practice and gave her an extra key to the theater. Nonetheless, Christine was very thankful for that, and for Giry in general. Giry was very much like a mother to her and took her in as her own when her father died, and even now since both her and Meg moved out she helps them whenever it's needed.

"See you at home" Meg gave her a soft smile before leaving.

Christine said goodbye to Meg and then went up to her dressing room, excited to hear her angel.

"My Christine" She heard him and smiled.

"Angel, were you paying attention to rehearsal today?" She asked, wishing to hear his opinions.

"Yes, you, of course, are so graceful with your dances and whenever you sing it's an absolute treat, even if it is just only a lyric" 

"Thank you, Angel" Anytime he praised her she felt her heart soar.

"Although, It's ridiculous that Carlotta has gotten the lead over you" He scoffed.

"Well, her voice is much stronger than mine" She played with her hands in her lap.

"Nonsense child, well Carlotta's technique is good she lacks passion, the woman simply cannot act. Unlike you, my child, you have so much passion that it would entrance any audience member" 

"Oh, I'm not sure about that" she said modestly. 

"But, I am my dear. I am" He promises her.

"I appreciate that a lot" She tells him.

"I know you do" 

After that, they officially began the lesson. The Angel would always make her practice Carlotta's part, Christine always said it was pointless to practice it this much because Carlotta would never miss a show, but her Angel insisted that she never knows. 

She loved to sing for her angel, it gave her that familiar emotion she had when singing for her father. She was at peace and content, she sang only for her angel. Even if she sang her own solo upon that stage, with an entire audience she would only be singing for her Angel.

"Angel, I have a question" 

"Yes?"

"Am I only able to talk to you in this theater?" She asks him.

"Yes, only within these walls"

"So the only way I can hear you and you can see me is when we are in this theater" She wanted to clarify this as much as she could.

"Yes, my child, why do you ask?" 

The truth was that she wanted to know because she wished to tell Meg of Raoul when she got home and to hang out with Raoul sometime. What her angel didn't know couldn't hurt him, right?

"Because sometimes I long to speak to you when I am not in this theater" This was not entirely a lie.

"I long for you too, Christine"


	2. Chapter 2

Christine went home feeling very tired but after her conversation with her angel, she decided it was safe to discuss Raoul with her friend. She still felt a little nervous about it, what if her Angel could not speak to her outside the theater, but could still hear her. She shook the thought away, deciding it was not possible.

"Hey Christine, how was practicing?" Meg asked.

"It was good" Christine said before going into her room to change into her pjs.

Once she got changed she went back to sit down next to Meg on the couch. She debated telling Meg about Raoul for a few seconds in her head before finally blurting out.

"I saw Raoul De Chagny today"

"What?" Meg quickly turned her head to face Christine. She's never met Raoul since Christine met Meg months after Raoul moved away, but Christine would often talk about him when they first became friends.

"Yes, he's going to college here, he's a history major! He walked into the coffee shop today, can you believe it? He could have gone into a Starbucks or something, but no he went into my coffee shop" Christine had to reverse her emotions about this all day, and now she could finally be excited about it.

"Sounds like fate" Meg giggled.

"Something like that, it was so nice to see him after all these years. I was only 14 when I last saw him, so much has changed in 4 years" Christine sighed.

"Is he still cute?" 

Christine giggled "He is so very handsome, and a little dorky but it only added to his charm"

"Did you get his number?" Meg asked.

"yes, well no, he asked for mine" Christine explained.

"Christine is gonna get a boyfriend" Meg teased and Christine blushed.

"Oh I don't know, It'll just be nice to have another friend. And one who knew my father before he was sick, I'd love to talk to him about my dad more" 

"I understand that, but if he asks you out you should say yes. You seemed to completely shut yourself off to boys, I know you're passionate about performing, but you must have a life outside of it"

Christine's face fell a little, she wished she could listen to Meg, and maybe she would. But, how could she betray her Angel like that? Going behind his back?

"Maybe" Christine nodded "Well, I'm tired I'm gonna go to bed"

"Goodnight Christine" Meg said to her.

Christine had trouble falling asleep that night, thinking of Raoul and her Angel. Trying to figure out how to navigate both those relationships. Maybe she could just be friends with Raoul, that shouldn't upset her Angel. He knew she was friends with Meg and that didn't anger him, as long as she made sure she and Raoul never went past being friends all should be good.

...

Raoul debated texting Christine for the rest of that day, he figured it would be weird to text her that very day it would make him seem too eager. He decided he would text her in the morning, that wasn't weird, right?

He couldn't believe how she got even more beautiful. She was a woman now, but her eyes still contained that childlikeness it was heartwarming and adorable. He hadn't realized how much he really missed her until today.

After he moved away he and Christine kept in touch for awhile, they'd talk through Facebook often and sometimes they'd call or videochat. When Christine's father became sick he heard less and less from her, he was devastated by this knowing that Christine was going through the worst type of pain imaginable and he could do nothing to help her. He wasn't able to stop her shutting him out, sometimes he wished he pushed harder to stay in her life because lord knows she needed all the love and support she could have gotten, but he didn't. He gave up fairly quickly, at the time he just thought she needed space, but eventually, she deleted her Facebook since she didn't have her own phone back then only a computer. He could no longer contact her and that was that, until now.

In the morning he did as he promised he would and texted Christine. He stared at the text for several minutes, before finally pressing send.

R: Good Morning, Christine! It's Raoul, It was so lovely to be able to see you again, I hope we can see each other again soon :) 

He began to get ready for his first class of the day when he heard his phone buzz and quickly checked it.

C: Hey Raoul! I hope for the same, I am very busy with both rehearsals and work, unfortunately, but when I get some free time I can let you know 

He briefly wondered if this was her letting him down easy, using the busy excuse, but her life did look genuinely busy and she was probably tired a lot too. 

R: That sounds good to me! Would you mind if I visited you at work sometimes?

After sending that he wondered if that was the right thing to ask, he was afraid of pressuring her he knew Christine could be shy and awkward, and she might just say yes just to be nice.

R: It's okay if you say no, I understand if you don't wanna be bothered at work.

He decided to send that second text as a way to give her an out if she wanted too. 

C: I'd like if you would visit me sometime, preferably when I have a closing shift because most of the time my manager leaves earlier than I do. 

Raoul grinned, so she did want to see him. If she didn't she wouldn't have given him that information.

R: Oh cool :) Just lmk when you have a closing shift and I'll see if I could be able to visit.

C: I will :D

He figured that would be the end of the conversation, but he heard his phone buzz again he assumed it might be from his brother, but he saw it was from Little Lotte.

C: What are you up to today?

He could not ignore the butterflies he got at the realization she wanted to keep talking to him. Raoul wanted to roll his eyes at himself over the fact that he is acting so lovesick over a girl he hadn't seen in 4 years, but this was Christine. He always knew she was special.

R: I have boring classes, how about you?

C: I'm currently at work, and it's very slow today. So I've just been on my phone because barely anyone has come in

Raoul felt so annoyed that he had classes because if he didn't he'd be able to keep her company and he wouldn't even be keeping her from her job if there was barely any customers.

R: That sounds boring 

C: Lol, it's not too bad. I'm called in for rehearsal today too

R: I assume that's more fun

C: It is, it can be tiring, but still fun

Raoul wished to talk to her more, but he had class soon. 

R: I have to go because I have class, we'll talk later though?

C: Sure :) 

...

When Christine was in rehearsal later that day she got another text from Raoul asking how her day went. She really did want to answer but decided to answer after rehearsal. What would her Angel do if he saw her smiling at her phone? Even though she knows she wasn't doing anything wrong she didn't want to take the risk.

"Who's that? Is it from Rao-" Meg said, but Christine quickly shushed her.

"Do not mention him" she whispered in a panicked voice.

"Why not?" Meg asked, clearly confused.

"Just don't" 

"But Christine-"

"Shush" Christine's glare was enough to shut up Meg, but she still was incredibly confused.

Christine felt guilty over having to be mean to her friend, she knew it wasn't Meg's fault, but she could not have her Angel overhearing such things. 

Thinking about all the stress this was causing her Christine briefly wondered if having a friendship with Raoul was worth all of this. Then an image appeared in her mind, an image of a 14-year-old Raoul soaked to the skin holding her red scarf that he ran into the sea to save and decided that it would be indeed worth it.

...

Erik waited for Christine to come into her dressing room after rehearsal. Their lessons are what he lived for, the only thing that gave him something resembling joy.

When Christine walked in he couldn't help, but smile. At the sight of her, his heart overflowed with admiration and sorrow. Admiration for she was the most heavenly sight anyone could see, and sorrow for the fact that she was so close yet so far. 

"Are you there, Angel?" She asked.

"Yes my child" he answered her "How are you feeling?"

"Good" She played with her hair a little, it was a small habit she had. Seeing it made Erik almost feel jealous, he yearned to play with her hair to twirl it around his finger.

"Did you have work today?"

"I did, it was quite slow and boring" She shrugged.

"One day you won't have to work at that coffee shop, the only job you'll have to do is sing. Bless the world with your voice and then you'd be set for life"

"You think?" She asked in a hopeful voice.

"Of course, I wouldn't have said it if I didn't believe it. Although of course, we can't get to that point without our lessons" He told her.

"Right, of course" She quickly agreed.

"We best get to singing" He told her and she nodded.

She began to sing, and he would correct her when she needed correcting. She was making amazing progress and he felt pride knowing it was him to thank for it.

The feelings he got from hearing her beautiful voice were indescribable. He remembers when he first heard her sing, it was the moment his entire life changed. He knew he needed her with him, he needed her to sing for him, his angel of music. He could tell how inexperienced her voice was, it was shaky and at times pitchy, but the passion was there, the passion he had heard within her voice he had only heard one place else, himself.

That was the moment he knew that this girl was made for him and he for her. She believed him to be an angel sent to her, but truly she was the angel sent to him. The angel sent to save him from his loneliness.

"Master?"

"Yes my dear?"

"Will you ever show yourself to me?" she asks.

He sighed, she would ask this question every now and then. He knew eventually he would have to show himself, but it had to be planned out. He had to show her the fact that he was a man and not an angel wasn't a bad thing, he knew that she would most likely be mad at first, but once she grew to understand him she could learn to love him. He couldn't expect her to grow to love his face, so if that meant he would have to wear a mask for all of the time then so be it. 

"Be patience my child, I will show myself to you when the time is right" He told her "Remember, patience is key"

"Yes, master" She seemed a little disappointed but hid that quickly.

They continued the lesson and after about an hour it was time for Christine to go home.

"Thank you my Angel" She told him, she normally said this after every lesson.

"Until tomorrow my dear" 

She nodded and exited out. Erik always hated this, he wanted nothing more for her to stay forever. He wondered if she felt the same pang of loneliness he felt when the lessons ended. There were times when he'd be very nitpicky with her just to keep her in his company for longer, but she was doing so well that he couldn't even try to do that at the moment.

Oh Christine, how tired her Erik is from hiding from her, but he knew if he did it at the wrong time then it could destroy everything he had built. He had to listen to his own advice and be patient.

...

When Christine went home she thought only of her Angel, and just longed to see him. What would he look like? She could only imagine he would be insanely beautiful, he was an Angel after all.

He always told her to be patient, but it had been a year and she still hadn't seen him. Maybe she just wasn't worthy of him yet, she had much to learn before she could be worthy of such a creature. Sometimes she wondered if she could see her father again through her Angel, he was from the heavens after all and that's where her dad was. He could bring her to him, or him to her. If only for a moment.

She had taken out her phone when looking at her texts she had totally forgotten that Raoul had texted her asking how she was doing she quickly went to answer.

C: Sorry for the late response, I was too busy in rehearsal to check my phone and normally I don't text in rehearsal just so you know lol. But I'm ok, how was your day?

R: oh that's ok no worries. My day was fine, classes were ok for the most part nothing too bad. How was rehearsal? 

She enjoyed how quick he responded to her, unlike Meg who would often take hours to respond. Christine could have a similar problem, but only when she was busy.

C: Rehearsal was ok, I am very tired though it's been a long day.

R: I bet. When is the show?

C: In three weeks 

R: I'd love to come see it, would that be cool?

Christine's face paled at that message and she stared at it for a long time, not knowing how to respond. It would be weird to tell him he couldn't see it, but she was afraid of her Angel's reaction to Raoul being there. She shook her head, realizing that there was no way of her angel being to tell what Raoul meant to her if he was only an audience member.

C: I'd liked that very much 

R: Awesome, I can't wait

She couldn't stop the smile beginning to form on her face. She knew this giddy feeling, she knew it meant she was beginning to develop feelings and she cursed herself for it. He was meant only to be a friend! Well maybe he still can be, if she just buries these feelings deep down. Yes, that's what she will do.

C: Me too :)

C: Well I'm tired so I'm gonna go to bed, nice talking to you. Goodnight Raoul 

R: Goodnight Christine <3

He had sent her a heart! She felt fear and joy at this, it was a cute thing for him to do, but she could only imagine her Angel's rage at this. She shuddered when she remembered how angry he sounded when he found out she was flirting with one of her coworkers.

She could not blame her Angel for his anger, he only wanted what was best for her. He wanted her to have a good career and to accomplish that she must dedicate herself entirely to her art and to him.

Her soul belonged to her Angel, but yet her heart did not. Her heart could easily get stolen by Raoul, she must keep it guarded at all times then. He could not steal her heart or it could ruin everything.

All she knew is that she can't have any distractions and she can't have her angel leave her.


	3. Chapter 3

For the next few days Christine and Raoul were texting nonstop, he had visited her at work once while she was on her break. He couldn't stay long, but she was happy to see him. Ever since her father died she felt like the world had been nothing but darkness until now. Raoul for her just seemed to represent light, all things good in the world.

Of course, she adored her Angel, her Angel was the most important thing in the world to her she would not deny that. But, he was something else altogether, he could easily frighten her. Raoul could never frighten her, Raoul didn't have a temper like her angel. He could be occasionally grumpy, but most of the time she had found it cute. Like an upset little puppy.

Although the most important difference between Raoul and her Angel is that Raoul would distract her from her art, her Angel would not, he'd do the opposite. The only thing she found between the two that was similar is that she felt both of them were the closest thing she had to her father, Raoul because he had known him before he was sick and the Angel because he was sent to her by her father.

She didn't know why she was bothering comparing the two, perhaps it was unfair to Raoul to compare him to something that was literally sent from the heavens. And they both meant so much to her but in totally different ways. It seemed to be when she wasn't thinking of her Angel she was thinking of Raoul and vice versa, and now she sat here on her couch thinking of both of them at the same time.

"So, when are do you think Raoul is gonna ask you out?" Meg took a seat next to Christine.

"Excuse me?"

"Oh come on, I see you always giggling at your phone. You're totally into him and he has to be into you" 

"Meg, it isn't like that" Christine tried to convince her.

"It's totally like that, you're just scared"

"What is there to be scared of?" Christine asked in a mocking tone. Christine knew exactly what there was to be afraid of but, Meg knew nothing of fear, she didn't know the angel of music's temper!

"Letting yourself actually trust someone again, being happy again and then losing that happiness" 

"That is not what I fear" Christine had to admit it was a good guess, but Christine did not fear happiness she had yearned for it. She just knew her happiness couldn't be with Raoul, it could only be with her music and her Angel.

Meg's face filled up with concern "What are you afraid of"

"Nothing" She choked "Nothing at all, it's just Raoul is my friend and that's all"

'You don't sound too convincing" Meg raised an eyebrow.

She rolled her eyes "I don't know what more you want from me, I'm telling you the truth"

"Christine, Raoul likes you. You must know that?" 

"I know no such thing. Come on Meg, we were barely teens when we last saw each other and have only been reunited for a few days, there's nothing like that between us" Christine insisted, but knew it was a lie. Apart of her was shocked by how fast she regained her feelings for Raoul, but perhaps she never got over him, the feelings have always been there just they were just sleeping for a while and now have been awoken by his return.

"I know how much he meant to you, it was more than just regular childhood sweethearts. Everything you have told me shows that it went deeper" 

"We were just kids" Christine said to herself more than to Meg. She knew Meg was right, but she couldn't just admit such things. She couldn't betrayal her Angel like this.

"What's the point of lying to yourself?"

"I am not lying! Raoul is just my friend, if he asks me out I will have to reject him. Simple as that" Christine's tone was stern.

"But, Christine he makes you happy I see it" Meg whined "I know my best friend, and I know you have the hots for Raoul De Chagny"

Christine blushed "I do not!"

"Do too!"

"Do not!" 

"Do too!"

"Oh my god, we are acting like children" Christine laughed while putting her hands in her face.

"You just can't accept true love" Meg shrugged and turned away from Christine.

"Woah, excuse me? Love? That's too far" 

"Maybe, but the more you talk the harder you're gonna fall. Just warning you" She said nonchalantly while flipping through channels.

"You're ridiculous" Is all Christine could think to say in return.

"I'm not the one going off about rejecting Raoul De Chagny" 

"If you were in my situation you would too" Christine blurted out, and regretted when she realized how suspicious that sounded.

Meg put the remote and looked at Christine with concern and a little curiosity "Christine, what are you not telling me? I can tell you've been hiding something"

"It's nothing"

"It's obviously not nothing, what do you have a secret boyfriend or something? What am I not getting?" 

Christine rolled her eyes "No, I do not have a secret boyfriend"

"What's going on? What is making you so afraid?" Meg asked again.

"Um, you were right. I am just afraid of losing happiness if I were ever to obtain it again" She had once again lied to her best friend, and she knew she had to continue lying to her.

"Aw Christine, you have to give it a shot. Life has it's happy and sad moments, but when you see something that could lead to happiness you gotta snatch it" Meg advised her and Christine only nodded.

"I'll think about it, but I think I'm gonna try to get some sleep" She told her and Meg nodded.

She felt sick, she was lying to everyone. To her best friend, to her Angel, and eventually she'd have to lie to Raoul. She felt like a terrible person.

Maybe she should just completely push Raoul away, it's what her angel would want from her. And isn't all that she wanted to do? Please her Angel?

She saw she got a text from Raoul and opened it.

R: Hey, I hope you had a nice day. It's been so nice being able to talk to you again.

She couldn't help, but smile. It really was so nice to talk to him, every time she talks to him she feels her mood lighten up, who would have thought a boy could have such an effect on her. 

C: It's been nice for me too.

All she wanted to do was stay up talking to him about it, but she could not. She had to get up early because tomorrow she had a night shift, which meant she'd have to go to the theater in the morning to have her lesson with her Angel before anyone else got there.

Christine fell asleep wishing for things to be easier. 

...

Christine awoke feeling exhausted, she never liked having lessons in the morning her voice wasn't fully prepared, but on days like these it was her only choice.

She let Raoul know she had the closing shift tonight in hopes he'd visit her. He promised he would, but she tried not to get too excited incase he canceled or something. She really shouldn't be excited about it at all, but she seemed to have a hard time keeping her emotions under control.

When she arrived in her dressing room and heard her Angel's voice she felt immediately calm. 

"Hello my master" She greeted.

"My dear child, how do you feel today?" He asks, with a gentle tone.

"A little tired, but pretty good for the most part" 

"I'm glad to hear it, shall we get to singing?" He asks.

"Actually, my Angel, I was wonder if you would sing to me first?" She requested.

"Whatever for?"

"I've been feeling stressed lately and your voice just makes me feel better about everything in the world" She explained.

"Stressed? Why on Earth is my Christine stressed?" There was an edge to his voice that truly scared her.

"Just about the show and stuff" She muttered out. He could never know the true source of her stress or she wouldn't be able to hear his perfect voice again.

"Ah I see" He responded, she couldn't tell if he really believed her, but he accepted the answer.

"So will you sing?" She asked again.

"For you my child? Of course" She felt relieved at his answer.

He began to sing and Christine felt hypnotized by his voice. When she heard him sing all her troubles seemed to fade away, all there was her and the music. She felt almost unworthy of such a sound, that only the purest of beings should be able to listen to a voice like this.

Yet, she had been blessed to be the one who was able to listen to the angel of music. She had her father to thank for this gift, she knows she does.

He finished his song "How do you feel, Christine?" 

She was breathless "Much better, thank you"

"One day, our world will be nothing, but music. Us, singing our songs together for eternity. Doesn't that sound nice?" He asked, his voice sounded so gentle yet vulnerable.

"That sounds very lovely, Master" She felt somewhat confused by the statement, but decided not to question her Angel.

"It does, doesn't it? I can't wait for it"

"I am ready to sing now" She told him.

"Perfect, let's begin"

She began to sing, he had her sing a love song. Singing the lyrics the only thing she could think of was Raoul, she wished she could force him out of her mind again, but she couldn't. She couldn't imagine how outraged her Angel would be if she found out that while she was singing she was distracted by a boy.

But, she really wasn't distracted, in fact it made the song better. She for the first time could understand the lyrics, which made her perform with more emotion than she thought capable. Maybe, her feelings for Raoul could help her career not to distract her. If she ever got the nerve she could explain this to her Angel.

There was silence for a moment, which made Christine nervous. Was it bad? Or even worse did he figured out that there was a boy in her life now?

"My Christine, I've never heard you perform that with so much emotion before" He said in awe once he finally spoke.

She blushed "Thank you, Master"

"I am astonished. Brava Christine, brava" 

"You are too kind to me" She shook her head, but couldn't help her smile at his praise.

"And you are too good" he told her "And the people will see that soon too" 

"They will? When?" She questioned.

"Soon" Is all he told her. Her Angel could be so cryptic.

"Do you think I will ever get a lead part?" 

"Of course I do, and I know one day you will go far beyond this theater" 

"You think?" She asked, feeling so unsure of herself.

"I do"

"What will happen for us though? If we can't communicate outside of this theater?" 

There was a pause.

"We will be together always. That's all you need to know" He tells her. 

For some reason, this did not comfort her. She should be happy that her Angel will always be with her, but it made her feel a little scared. Was he also with her when she was with Raoul? She didn't know, she'd assume not because he would have said something by now. She was just taking what he said too literally, he meant it only to make her feel better.

They did some scales and after that, she sang him another song and was thankful it wasn't a love song. She didn't like having to think of Raoul so much in the presence of her Angel, she sometimes was fearful he'd be able to read her mind.

Once the lesson finished she thanked him and they said their goodbye. When Christine went home she wondered if she should just tell Raoul he shouldn't come to see her during her shift, she should just stay faithful to her Angel. Yet, she couldn't because she was looking forward to seeing him.

Music and her Angel will always come first, but that doesn't mean she isn't allowed to have fun, right?

God, she just wished she could choose an emotional stance on this situation and stick with it, but she couldn't she kept going back and forth.

All she knows is that she will see Raoul tonight.

...

Raoul felt nervous about seeing Christine, but he was mostly excited. He couldn't believe she had this effect on him, he had girlfriends before, but he never once felt like this in his life. Christine Daae, his childhood sweetheart had once again captivated his mind and heart.

He decided he needed to talk to Phillipe about this, he picked up his phone and gave his brother a call.

"Hey Raoul, everything ok?" Phillipe asked.

"Everything is wonderful, you wouldn't believe who I've been reconnecting with these past few days" 

"Who?" Phillipe sounded confused.

"Christine Daae, remember her?" He asked.

"Oh right, didn't you run into the sea to get her yellow scarf or something one time?"

"Um, it was actually red, but yes. I found this little coffee shop not far from my campus and she works there! What are the odds, right?" 

"uh yeah, I fail to see the big deal here" 

"Phillipe, I have never felt this way about a girl before. I know I sound crazy, but I feel like I never got over Christine I think I always cared for her and now that she's back in my life all these feelings have came back at full force" 

"Didn't this girl break your heart by completely stopping any communication with you?" Phillipe asked.

"Well yes, but her father was dying and I'm sure she was going through a lot. I don't blame her for it" He was never angry with her for that and never would be, it would be cruel to be mad over that.

"You were moping around for months" 

Raoul rolled his eyes "It's in the past"

"Whatever, where is she going to school?" 

"Oh, she isn't in School" He tells him.

"Wait what? She's not in school? So she's just a waitress?" Phillipe's voice was just filled with judgment.

Raoul groaned, he loved his brother, but he could be so annoyingly judgmental and pretentious "Yeah she's a waitress, she also does theater" 

"Wow a waitress and an actress? Sounds like a real winner" 

"Don't be a dick" He told him.

"I'm not, just warning you to maybe be careful with this little crush" 

"Yeah, whatever, I'm gonna go" Raoul felt annoyed by his brother and didn't wish to hear him insult Christine any longer.

"Come on Raoul, don't be offended" 

"Bye" Raoul said and hung up.

Raoul pushed his brother's rude comments away and thought only of how he was gonna be hanging out with Christine.

She sent him a text telling him he can come whenever is good for him if he wants to visit her. He replied that he was on his way.

When he arrived he saw Christine sitting behind the counter looking at her phone, when she saw him she looked up and smiled.

"Hey" She says.

"Hey, how's it going?"

"Good, no one really comes in around this time because who wants to get a coffee at 11 at night?" She rolled her eyes but was still smiling.

"Maybe a student who needs caffeine to pull an allnighter"

"That's true, I have come across that a few times" 

"I've had to do that a few times" Raoul laughed.

"That sounds awful, I know I have had to get my caffeine during tech week" She tells him.

"What's tech week?" 

"So basically it's like the last week of rehearsals before you open and when you have to put all the technical elements into a show and god it is stressful" She sounded exasperated just talking about it.

"Sounds fun" Raoul remarked sarcastically

"Oh yeah super fun" She rolled her eyes "Come sit back here with me, don't worry you won't get in trouble"

"Alright" He smiled and went to sit with her behind the counter.

"Do you want a cup of coffee? I can make it decaf" Christine offered.

"That sounds nice"

"I can make you a little latte" She joked referencing that pun he made when they first remet.

"I have no idea why I made that joke" He shook his head while laughing.

Christine chuckled "I thought it was cute"

"Then I'm glad I made such a stupid joke" He told her, and hoped she didn't notice the slight blush on his face.

"What do you like in your coffee?" She asks.

"Milk and 3 sugars"

"Wow 3 sugars? Ya like your coffee sweet" She remarks.

"Sure do, why? You like yours bitter?" He asks as she gives him his coffee.

"Nope, I like mine sweet as well" She giggled and took a sip of her coffee.

Raoul smiled at her, she looked so adorable sitting there sipping on her coffee with a small smile on her face. 

"I remember how you use to hate coffee, you always preferred tea" 

"I've changed a lot over these 4 years" She smirks.

He raises an eyebrow "Oh? How have you changed?"

"I like coffee now" She grins.

He laughs "Ah yes what a significant change"

"Makes me a totally different person" She jokes.

"Have you changed though? I mean obviously you must have changed it's been 4 years, but you still seem to be that sweet, caring, playful girl I had known" His eyes held a deep affection as he spoke.

She took a thoughtful pause "I'm not sure how much I've changed, I think it's more like everything around me has changed. Then I suppose that must have changed me in ways I am not even aware of"

He nodded, feeling sympathy for her knowing that she went through a lot of difficult emotional changes for someone so young.

"How about you? How have you changed? Would you still run into the sea to fetch my scarf for me" She teased him to lighten the mood.

"I'd run into the sea to fetch your scarf any time, any day, any year" He promises with a playful smile on his face.

She bit her lip "You truly have not changed"

"I like to think I've changed a little, maybe matured" He shrugged.

"You always seemed mature for your age, unlike most of the boys I knew at that time" 

"I didn't get along with them that much either, I really only liked talking to you" He said and she blushed.

"I missed those times, they were so much fun and just so simple" She sighed.

"That's true, we had so many wonderful times together" 

"Sometimes I can still hear father's violin playing in my head" She said with a dreamy yet mournful look in her eyes.

"I always loved him playing the violin it made the storytelling far more effective" He chuckled "It was even better when you sang with him, I felt bad that I had no musical talent to offer you two"

She rolled her eyes and laughed "Don't worry, we needed an audience"

"I was honored to be that audience" He said while pressing a hand to his heart.

They talked for a long time, reminiscing on old times, Raoul appreciated the spark she had in her eyes while talking about her father, and his heart broke knowing how much she must have missed her dad. They also talked about how their current lives, Raoul was telling her all about his classes, and Christine spoke passionately about the work she did at the theater.

"Oh shit I was supposed to clock out 10 minutes ago" She realizes.

"Wow I didn't realize it was so late" 

"Me either, it was so nice talking to you" She began to sit up and grab her bag.

"Can I walk you home?" He offers.

She thinks for a moment "I'd like that"

"Great" He couldn't stop himself from smiling.

When they arrived at her apartment he had briefly debated kissing her, maybe even just a kiss on the cheek, but she bid him a goodnight before he couldn't even attempt it.

Despite that, both of them went to bed with huge smiles on their faces.


	4. Chapter 4

Christine woke up early for work, when she went into her living room she was greeted by Meg on the couch drinking a cup of coffee and gave Christine a smirk.

"How was your time with Raoul last night?" She asked.

Christine blushed and didn't make eye contact with her friend "It was fine, just two old friends catching up"

"Did he make a move on you?"

She rolled her eyes "No he did not" 

Meg gave her a skeptical look "Are you guys gonna hang out again?" 

"I'm not sure, we didn't make any plans" Christine shrugged, but she knew she really wanted to see him again.

"You have to see him again!" Meg went towards her friend.

"I might, he's probably busy with classes he doesn't want to spend all his time with me" This is what Christine has been trying to tell herself, but then remembered how sweetly Raoul looked at her with such affection, it made her rethink that thought.

"You can invite him here! After rehearsal" Meg suggested "Then I can meet him and hey it wouldn't be a date if I'm here"

"Wouldn't that be weird?" Christine questioned.

"Nah, it'd be fine. We can eat food, watch tv, and just have a good time"

Christine thought for a moment, she knew she couldn't invite him over directly after rehearsal because of her lesson with her angel, but she wondered if it would be awkward. Last night hadn't been awkward, but it would be different at her own apartment. She would have Meg there though...

"Ok I'll ask him, but I won't be surprised if he says no"

"I'm certain he'll say yes" Meg remarks confidently.

"But, remember I practice after rehearsals so if he does come over it'll be after that" Christine reminds her.

"Ah yes, you can't miss a single day of practicing" Meg said sarcastically.

Christine gave her a look "It's important"

"Whatever" Meg waved her off "Oh you never sent me those singing tutorials you use on youtube" 

Christine looked confused "What?"

"You know, the tutorials you look at on youtube to help practice singing. You told me about this a few days ago" 

Christine suddenly remembered what she was talking about "Oh yeah, I'll send those to you"

She looked up just singing lessons on youtube and sent Meg the links of the first few things that showed up. 

"Thanks Christine" Meg smiled at her.

"Well, I gotta get to work, see ya" Christine said before leaving.

She felt cruel for lying to her friend, but Meg would think she was absolutely insane if she tried to tell her that she was getting singing lessons from the Angel of music in her dressing room. Apart of Christine wondered if she was also going insane if she just made up this voice to help cope with the grief of her father, but he felt so real to her, and her father had promised her he would send her the Angel of music. The idea that her father truly sent this Angel to her is one of the things that keeps her going.

Then she remembered she had to invite Raoul over tonight, she took out her phone to text him and felt very nervous and awkward, feeling like she might come across as a total weirdo.

C: Hey Raoul, had so much fun catching up with you last night and was wondering if you wanted to hang with me and roommate Meg tonight at my place, obviously you don't have to it was her idea lol.

When she saw he was typing she almost had a heart attack and regretted inviting him. He's probably trying to reject her in the most polite way possible.

R: That sounds fun! What time?

Christine repressed a giggle, she really didn't think he'd say yes.

C: around 8, that sound good?

R: Sounds good, see you then :D

Christine let out a sigh of relief, he didn't think she was a weirdo and he actually wanted to hang out with her. She realized she had to let Meg know.

C: I texted Raoul and well we shall have company tonight!

M: Told you so.

Christine rolled her eyes but was still smiling. She really shouldn't be so excited. She realized that she would have to hide her excitement from her Angel during their lesson tonight, which made her feel horribly guilty. What kind of person was she? Lying to something that is from the heavens, she thought herself to be unworthy of her Angel.

She tried to tell herself she wasn't bad, because she hasn't actually lied to her Angel. She simply was just not sharing something with him. It was wrong of her not to tell him because she knew how he'd disapprove but what was she suppose to do? She wanted Raoul in her life, but she also wanted to keep her Angel in her life. And they only way to keep both of them in her life was for the Angel not to know of Raoul.

If he found out he'd leave her, maybe forever. She shuddered when she remembered how her Angel reacted when he saw her flirting with that boy.

FLASHBACK

Christine went into her dressing room for her voice lessons after rehearsal as she always did. 

"Angel are you there?" She asks and she knew he was.

"Yes" His voice sounded colder than usual, lacking any type of warmness or affection.

"Shall we get started on our lessons?" She asks.

"Who was the boy you were talking to during rehearsals, the one who's hair you complimented?" 

Her face turned red "What? You mean John?"

"Why were you talking to him?" He demanded to know.

"I- I don't know, he just is nice" Is all she could manage to say.

"You were flirting with him, do not lie to your Angel admit to me you were flirting with that boy" His voice began louder and more terrifying.

Christine was shaking "I do not know what you're talking about"

"I told you not to lie to me, tell me the truth now" 

She was horribly confused by his anger, she had a small crush on John and Meg forced her to talk to him. She didn't think her Angel would care, she didn't think it would matter to him at all.

"Why does this matter?" She asked, desperately trying to understand what was happening.

"Tell me" He commanded her.

"Yes, I was flirting with him, but why does this matter?" 

"You foolish girl! I had so much faith in you" He scolded her and she was still confused.

"Master, please explain to me what I did wrong" She begged.

"I thought I saw something in you, I thought you could be something great, but clearly I had been wrong"

Tears were beginning to fill up her eyes "What do you mean?"

"If you wish to truly be a great singer one day then you must dedicate yourself to the music and to me. But, I know now that you only focus on silly boys" His voice was filled with anger and disgust and it made Christine feel terrible.

"That's not true! I swear my Angel!" She promises while tears stream down her face.

"I suppose we shall no longer have lessons anymore because this had been the path you have chosen" 

Christine's heart sank, no she couldn't let that happen. These lessons were all she had, they made her feel so close to her father again, she couldn't let him leave her.

"Angel, please I promise you I won't ever even look at John again. I dedicate myself to you and my music only." She swears "Just please, please don't leave me"

There was a deafening silence.

"If you ever do something like this again, I won't hesitate to abandon you. Understood?"

"I understand" She was relieved that she had been given a second chance.

"Now dry your tears and let's sing"

END OF FLASHBACK

She felt shaken up by the memory, she remembered how shortly after that John had been fired she didn't know why at times she wondered if her Angel had anything to do with it.

she certainly had to make sure her Angel would never know of Raoul or else she would be doomed.

...

Erik was excited to see Christine as he always was. He remembered how much passion she had when singing that song the other day. It went beyond the normal passion she had for singing, it sounded like she meant every lyric and those lyrics were quite romantic. He briefly wondered if she had a boyfriend that had arisen this passion within her, but decided that wasn't true after the warning he gave her he trusted Christine was smart enough not to get involved with another man. Which meant she could have possibly felt that way towards him and was singing those romantic lyrics to him! He knew it could be a stretch, but it wasn't impossible. Perhaps his Christine finally began to see him the way he always saw her.

He envisioned the life they could have together, they would be married and he would have his own very living bride. A bride who loved him and doted on him, who would be happy with him.

Then he felt guilt knowing if she was in love with him then she was just in love with the idea of her Angel, not Erik. Sometimes he felt guilty for tricking her like this, but he couldn't be to blame for it. Christine was beautiful, she was perfect and could certainly have any man she wanted if he were to introduce himself to her he would have no chance. Disguising as her Angel was the only way he had to seek into her heart.

Maybe once he reveals himself to her she already be so deeply in love with him that what he looked like did not matter to her at all.

Erik knew this was just wishful thinking, but it wasn't impossible. He had faith that she would be able to learn to love him, if anyone could love someone like him it was Christine. Christine who was so sweet, so innocent, and full of compassion. She'd see the man behind the monster, maybe not at first, but in time she would.

When she walked in her dressing room today she looked as beautiful as ever and seemed to be in a very good mood.

"Why are you so happy today?" he asked her.

"Um, I'm just excited for our lesson" She told him and it warmed his heart.

"I am too my child, I always look forward to our lessons" 

"I'm happy to hear that, master"

Sometimes he wondered what it would be like for her to say his real name, I bet she could make even just his name sound beautiful.

"Let's begin, shall we?" He said and she nodded.

He made her sing a few love songs today, just to make sure he didn't imagine the newfound passion. And he hadn't. Either she had seriously improved her already good acting or she had fallen in love.

He allowed himself to believe she had fallen in love. It wasn't so unbelievable, was it? She did not know the horrors of his face yet, she only knew his voice and he knew he had a beautiful voice.

If she was truly in love with him, then he knew he had to start planning his introduction to her soon. He knew he would have to wear his mask, she would no doubt flee at the first sight of his face if he didn't wear a mask. And he would introduce his world of darkness to her through music, he knew music would be the only way he could appeal to her.

He almost giggled out of excitement, perhaps things were coming together for Erik for once.

...

Christine went home and felt very nervous about Raoul coming over. She tidied up the apartment a bit for him and put out a couple of snacks. Her phone buzzed and she couldn't repress her giddy smile when she saw it was a text from him.

R:I'm here

"Meg, he's here! I'm gonna go bring him up" Christine calls to her roommate who gives her a thumbs up.

Christine rushed down the stairs, she saw him through the see-through door and he gave her a little wave when he saw her coming down 

She opened the door and let him in "Hi" 

"Hey" He smiled and gave her a big hug.

She melted into his arms and they both relished the feeling of being able to hold each other, even if it was only for a split second.

"Follow me " She told him as she began to lead him up the stairs.

When they walked in they were greeted by Meg who got up to greet them.

"So nice to meet you, Christine has told me so much about you" Meg said, which made Christine blush and glare at her while Raoul beamed at this information.

"She's told me about you as well" Raoul replied.

"What's that?" Meg asked pointing to the paper bag he was holding, and Christine was surprised she hadn't noticed it.

"Oh" He put the bag down and took out the box that was in there "It's some macarons, I remember they were Christine's favorite when we were younger"

Christine felt touched "You remembered that?"

"Of course, I hope you still like them" He said, sounding a little nervous.

"I do" She smiled.

Meg looked at Christine and back at Raoul with a warm smile and the three of them went into the living room, Christine and Meg sat on the couch and Raoul sat in the armchair that was next to the couch and closest to Christine.

"So, Meg you also do theater with Christine, correct?"

"Yes" She nodded proudly "I'm not as good a singer as Christine, but I do love dancing"

"I'm actually gonna be going to your next performance" He says with an excited smile.

"That's wonderful, you invited him?" Meg asked turning to Christine.

"He asked if he could go" 

"I love theater, I'm not any good at it, but it's wonderful to just be in the audience" 

Christine's face lit up "Remember when father brought us to see Les Miserables"

"Yes! That was wonderful, you couldn't stop crying at the end" Raoul teased.

"Christine always cries at plays, movies, or shows" Meg remarks.

Raoul laughed "Oh she hasn't changed, I remember I'd have to comfort her"

"Hey, I remember you crying when Eponine died" Christine said accusingly 

"Ok, but who doesn't cry when Eponine dies. I'm not heartless" Raoul defends himself.

Christine giggles "Ok that's true"

"Point is both of you are super sensitive" Meg jokes and they both laugh.

Christine grabs one of the macarons as Meg and Raoul continue talking and is delighted by the taste, she hadn't had one in a long time, but they tasted like her childhood.

Raoul looked over at her with a hopeful look "You like them?"

"Yes, thank you for getting them" 

He grins "Anytime"

"So Raoul, are you excited to see Christine and I perform soon?" Meg asks.

"Very much so, I haven't seen live theater in so long"

"Do you know that our theater is haunted?" Meg asks with a wicked grin.

"Oh?" He questions, clearly intrigued.

"Meg, stop it" She rolled her eyes. 

"No, I wanna hear about this. Tell me about this haunted theater" 

"There is a phantom who haunts the theater" Meg says while jumping up "People say his skin is like yellow parchment and that he has no nose!" 

"No nose? How does he smell things?" Raoul said in a joking manner, going along with Meg's over the topness and Christine is watching them with annoyance and the slightest bit of amusement. 

"Maybe he can not smell you, but he can burn you with the heat of his eyes. You must always be on your guard" Meg warns them playfully.

"Or he'll catch you with his magical lasso!" Meg jumped back on the couch and pretended to strangle Christine.

"Stop" Christine shooed her away, but still let out a laugh.

Raoul laughed "Who came up with this story?" 

Meg shook her head "No one came up with it, it's the truth!"

"Joseph Buquet, who works at the theater tells some of the ensemble members these stories to scare us" Christine explained.

"It's not just that! Stuff is always mysteriously falling most of the time on Carlotta, and there are rumors that our manager has to pay him" 

"There's no way he's paying a ghost, we barely have enough money for our sets and costumes he wouldn't waste money on that" Christine said and Raoul seemed interested at that comment, but said nothing.

"My mother has worked there for years and yet has never denied it, I've asked her before and she tells me to simply not ask her that question. Sorta suspicious if you ask me" Meg crossed her arms.

Raoul laughed "No offense Meg, but there are no such things as Phantoms"

Christine nodded agreeing with Raoul, but apart of her mind always wondered if it was actually true. Sometimes she wondered if this Phantom and her Angel were connected in some way, but she shook the thought away deciding to not let her mind even go there.

"Oh yes there is, you don't know you haven't been in the theater" Meg argued.

"Christine has, and she doesn't seem to believe it"

"Yeah, Meg there is nothing haunting our theater" Christine told her.

Meg rolled her eyes "I know what I know"

Christine laughed at her friend's stubbornness as did Raoul.

"Well, I am going to bed now" Meg said while getting up.

Christine looked confused "What? So Early?"

"Of course, but Raoul you should stay and talk to Christine" She winked at Christine and Christine glared at her, she should have known she would have done this so she'd be alone with Raoul.

"Oh ok, cool" Raoul looked like he was trying to contain a grin that was breaking through.

"Night Meg" Christine tried to convey some annoyance with her tone, but in truth, she wasn't that annoyed. Apart of her was excited to be alone with Raoul again.

"Goodnight Meg, it was nice meeting you" Raoul says to her.

"Nice meeting you too" She smiles at him before going to her bedroom.

There was a moment of silence after she left them alone together.

"I can go if you want" he offered, nervously even though it was clear he wanted to stay.

She wishes he wasn't so cute, sweet, and thoughtful. It would make her life so much easier.

"I don't want you to go, do you want to go?"

He shook his head "No!" he said all too quickly.

She laughed and patted the seat next to her for him to sit with her "Sit with me"

"Ok" He took the seat next to her on the couch.

"We can watch a movie if you want" She asked him.

"That sounds good" He nods.

Christine flips through the channels and sees that Beauty and The Beast was on and stops there "I love this movie"

"Isn't it, your favorite Disney movie?" He asks, but he already knows the answer.

She nods with a smile on her face "Remember how I forced you to watch it one time"

"Yes I do, I didn't mean though I would have been happy to watch any movie with you" He fiddles with his hands.

Christine blushes, she remembers that neither of them has truly acknowledged the fact that they were childhood sweethearts and not just two kids who had small crushes on each other, but they vowed to love each other to the end of time. Christine knew it was dramatic, and they were just silly lovesick kids, but she wondered what he thought of those vows now?

FLASHBACK

Raoul went to Christine's room, to say goodbye. He was moving that day, and Christine was in absolute distress over it as was he.

"Christine?" He said as he walked in, and he heard her sobs.

"Oh Raoul do not look at me, my face looks all gross from how much I've been crying" She refused to face him.

He walked in regardless "Christine I am leaving, I have to look at you. Just one last time"

She turned around, her eyes were all red and puffy and her cheeks were stained with tears.

He wiped away her tears with his thumbs "You look beautiful, little lotte, you always do"

She hugged him, very tightly, wishing she would never have to let go.

"Raoul, why must you leave" She cried.

"I don't wanna leave either, it's my dad's fault. If I had it my way I'd stay with you forever" They break the hug only so they can look at each other.

"I'm going to be so lonely" Christine confesses.

"I am too, but you'll have your dad at least" He says hoping to comfort her.

"I know, and he means everything to me. But I have no other friends my age, I only have you" She confesses.

"We can still keep in touch, I'll always be there for you my love" Raoul told her and pressed a kiss upon her hands. His eyes started to fill up with tears.

"Raoul, don't cry" She begs him.

Tears fall down his face "Oh Christine, I wanted to be strong for you, but I can't. I am going to miss you more than you could ever know"

"I know how you feel, but we will be together again one day. Won't we?" She asks, with a sad yet hopeful look.

"Of course we will, once we're adults and don't have our parents telling us what to do I will marry you" He promises.

She smiles "You will?"

He takes her hand "I will. Christine, I vow to love you for all of time. People will tell me I am young and immature and don't know what love is, but I know I love you and will always love you"

"And I vow to love you for all time" She promises.

He kisses her, they are both inexperienced, but the kiss was still so full of love and enough to leave both of them breathless. 

They are interrupted by a knock on the door from Phillipe.

"We have to go Raoul " He tells him.

Christine's eyes fill with sadness once again, not wanting him to leave.

He kisses her hand "We will meet again, I love you"

"I love you too" She whimpered. 

Once he left she ran to her father and cried in his arms.

END OF FLASHBACK

"You ok?" Raoul asks.

"What?"

"You seemed to have zoned out a bit" He chuckled.

She shook her head "Oh right, yeah I was just thinking about stuff"

"What stuff?"

"Nothing important" She shrugged, hoping she came across as believable.

He gave her a questioning look but didn't push anything.

Christine kept thinking back to that memory, they were only 14, they couldn't have possibly meant all that. 

Raoul then put his arm around Christine, he seemed nervous and she was too. She moved closer to him.

She knew she could not deny her feelings to herself anymore, she liked Raoul as more than a friend, she never stopped feeling this way for him. She doesn't know if she could keep the vow she made when she was 14, but she does know that her feelings haven't faded during their 4 years apart.

Forgive her Angel Of Music, but she liked the boy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had two flashbacks in this chapter, but I felt like that it's important to show some of the history Christine has had with these two men because their past reflects how she feels and acts around them now. Anyways hoped you enjoy :)


	5. Chapter 5

"So how was your time with Raoul?" Meg asked Christine when she walked into the living room.

"It was good, we watched a movie and he left after that" Christine shrugged.

"That's it?" Meg sounded disappointed.

"It was nice" Christine defended it.

"I'm glad you had fun" She tells her.

There was silence for a moment "Meg you're right"

"What?"

"I like Raoul" Christine finally admits.

"So you finally admit it" Meg smirks.

"I wish I could deny it, but I no longer can" Christine sighs.

"Christine, this isn't a bad thing, let yourself have fun" Meg encourages her.

Christine wishes she could confide in her about her strict Angel of music, but she would never believe her. Meg could never understand what was at stake. 

"I have to dedicate myself to my music" She tells her.

Meg rolls her eyes "Jesus Christine, you can have a love life and a career you know"

'Tell that to the Angel of music' She thought to herself bitterly. 

"I don't know I'll think about it" Christine shrugged.

"Also you forgot to thank me" Meg remarks.

"For what" Christine raises an eyebrow.

"For going to bed early, letting you be alone with lover boy" Meg smirks.

Christine thought about arguing with that but instead, she smiled and said "Thank you"

"Anytime"

"I'm actually thinking of inviting Raoul over for dinner tonight after rehearsal" Christine told her.

"You should! I'll stay in my room"

Christine shook her head "You don't have to do that"

"No, I'm going to do that and you won't argue" Meg told her sternly.

"Fine" Christine agreed.

Christine was scared of sounding too clingy with Raoul, they already hung out two nights in a row she wondered if he was already sick of her. She knew she wasn't sick of him.

She saw she got a text from him and opened it right away.

R: Had fun last night, you free tonight?

Yes! He wasn't sick of her.

C: I am, I was actually gonna ask you if you wanted to come over here for dinner tonight?

R: That sounds great!

She then texted him the time, and it worked for him. She felt so giddy, she wondered if this counted as a date apart of her wanted it to be a date.

She looked at herself in the mirror and decided to doll herself up a bit, it's been such a long time since she has done that. Since she wouldn't have time after rehearsal to do her makeup she had to do it now, she looked up makeup tutorials on youtube and got started.

For her outfit, she wore leggings and a shirt that was a little lowcut. When she observed herself in the mirror she almost was gonna wipe it off but decided not to. She was going to allow herself to doll herself up and be excited to see the boy she liked, there was no crime in that.

"Wow Christine look at you" Meg said while grinning.

"I know" Christine giggled.

"I haven't seen you put on makeup in such a long time" Meg commented.

"Just thought I'd have a little fun" She shrugged. In truth, she really wanted just to feel normal, when she saw Raoul tonight she wanted to pretend like there was no angel that she could just be happy to see her crush.

"Well you look great" Meg smiled.

Christine blushed "Thank you

Christine hoped her Angel did not question her appearance, it was really rare for her to put on makeup unless it was for a show, not to say she didn't like it she just never had the energy. She prayed her Angel wouldn't ask if he had to do with a boy. 

...

When Erik saw Christine that day for her lesson his mouth went dry. Her shirt was lowcut and showed cleavage, she normally covered up so he felt surprised, and tried his best not to stare. What would Christine think of her Angel having such thoughts?

"Hello Angel" She greeted him.

"Hello my dear, let's begin shall we?"

"Yes, master" She answered.

They began the lesson and he continued to wonder why she would wear something so lowcut, could it be for him? Was this her way of telling him she desired him and now wanted to be desired by him too? Or maybe she simply just enjoyed torturing him.

He noticed she was wearing makeup as well, was she trying to look good for him? Doesn't she know he finds her beautiful no matter what? She was blessed to be naturally beautiful, sometimes he found her so beautiful that he even felt jealous.

He remembered one time he overheard her talking to Meg and she called herself ugly. It made him so angry, how someone so beautiful referred to themself as ugly. He felt tempted to show her his face when she said that, so she was aware of what ugly truly was.

When the lesson came to an end, Erik felt sad and wanted it to continue. These were the only times he felt at peace, being able to see her and listen to her beautiful voice. Now he'd have to return to the darkness all alone.

"Christine, can I ask you something?"

She seemed nervous "Of course master, did I do something wrong?"

"No my child, you can do no wrong. I was just wondering-" He hesitated "Do you, do you ever miss me? After these lessons are done"

Her face softened "Of course I do my angel, I always miss you"

"Really?" 

"Yes really, do you miss me?"

"More than you could imagine" He confesses.

"Speaking of missing people, I also have a question" She told him.

"Yes?" he responded. He always felt nervous when she asked questions, he wondered if she would start to question him too much.

"How is my father?"

A stab of guilt hit him at this question, he knew she believed him to have some relation to her father when in reality he never has even met the man. He was taking advantage of her deepest vulnerable, but he had no choice. Sometimes he wondered what her father was like, what made this woman so desperate for any sign of her father that she would believe that he was an actual Angel sent by him. He must have been the opposite of his own parents.

"He misses you" Is all he told her, he could only assume that was true.

Her eyes filled with sadness and longing "I miss him too"

"I know my dear" He answered sympathetically.

"Is he proud of me?" She asked.

He seemed confused that she would even ask this "How could he not be?"

"I feel as though he would have excepted better of me" She tells him.

"You are perfect, you're a beautiful, kind, talented, and smart young woman. Do not worry, there's no reason for him not to be proud"

She accepted his answer "Thank you"

"Of course"

"Well, goodbye my Angel. Till next time"

And she left and all that surrounded him now was the darkness.

...

Raoul was getting ready to go see Christine and then got a call from his brother.

"What's up?" He answered.

"Nothing just wanted to see how you're doing"

"Oh I'm good, I'm just about to go over Christine's place" He tells him.

"Wait what? Are you guys dating?" He asked.

"Um, well no, we're just friends at the moment" Raoul says, but he is hoping that this will change tonight

"You seem to be talking to her a lot" Phillipe comments with a slight edge to his voice.

"Yeah, it's great" Raoul ignores his brother's tone.

"You should be careful with her" He warns him.

Raoul rolls his eyes "Phillipe, Christine is a wonderful person no one has to worry" 

"I just don't trust her"

"You barely remembered who she was the other day" 

"I remember she broke your heart" He says.

"I don't have time for this, I'm gonna go. I'll talk to you later" Raoul hangs up.

He loved his brother a lot, but nothing was gonna stop him from seeing Christine. 

Last night showed him that she must have some feelings for him, when he put his arm around her she not only let him but must move closer. That has to mean something.

He remembers how his brother would tell him that what he felt for Christine was not love, that he was just a lovesick teenage boy who will get over it the minute he finds a new girlfriend. He wanted to believe him at the time, and he did have new girlfriends over those 4 years yet not one of them made him feel the feelings that Christine made him feel.

Perhaps his 14-year-old self was right, maybe he would love her for all of time. 

....

"Where's Meg?" Raoul asked once he walked in Christine's apartment.

"Oh, she already ate" She tells him.

"So she won't be joining us?" Raoul asked, knowing this answer will feed into his suspicion if she likes him or not.

Christine looked away and blushed "No she is not"

Raoul tried his best not to smile at the knowledge he and Christine would be alone tonight.

"I made pizza for dinner" She tells him 

"Awesome" He smiles "Thank you"

She nodded and got them their plates and then they went to go sit on the couch together.

"How was rehearsal?" He asks her.

"It was good, the show is coming along well" 

"I'm excited to see it" He tells her "The other day you mentioned something about how it wouldn't make sense for your manager to pay the opera ghost because you guys could barely afford sets and costumes, is that true?"

Christine nodded "Of course, I mean we are just a community theater so we don't have the greatest budget. We do well enough though"

"Interesting" Raoul comments.

"Why do you ask?" She tilts her head.

"Oh nothing" He takes a bite of his pizza

"Alright" She shrugs.

"You know I just realized I have yet to hear you sing again" He remarks with a grin.

Christine looks down "This is true"

"Can I hear you sing?" He asks "Pretty please?"

Christine freezes. She could not sing for him, she could never do that. It would be the ultimate betrayal to her Angel, she was already going against him she could not do this to him. She sang for her Angel and her Angel alone.

"I will not" 

"Aw come on" Raoul insists.

She realized she must change the topic "Hey, didn't my dad start to give you violin lessons?"

"Uh yeah, why?" 

"I must hear you play" She tells him.

"I cannot" He laughs.

"Yes, you will! I have one in my room" She takes one more bite of her pizza and gets up.

"If I play will you sing?" He asks.

"No promises" She winks.

She grabs his arm and brings him to her room. He felt nervous entering Christine's room, but he shook that feeling away because he knew what was happening was completely innocent.

She handed him the violin with a grin on her face.

"Play" She told him.

"Fine" He rolled his eyes "I am not good though and I have a feeling you know that"

She giggled in response and nodded.

He began to play, and while he was not bad he certainly was not good either. Christine erupted into a fit of giggles on her floor.

Raoul stopped playing "I'm so glad this is amusing to you"

"I'm sorry Raoul, you aren't bad" She insists.

He laughs "That's not true, but thanks for trying to lie to me"

"I'm just used to my dad's playing 

Raoul nodded "He was amazing"

"He really was, I miss hearing him play the violin" Her face saddened.

Raoul's heart broke at the sight and considered continuing to play the violin badly as a chance to make her smile again. Then he realized he never got the chance to say sorry for the loss of her father, and felt immediately awful about himself over that fact.

"I don't think I've gotten the chance to say this, but I am sorry for your loss" He told her, compassion filling his voice.

She felt guilty when hearing these words because it was her fault he didn't get the chance to say those words considering she completely ghosted him.

"Raoul, I don't think I've gotten the chance to say this to you, but I am sorry for losing touch with you. It's my fault" 

He shakes his head "Christine, I totally understand you had a lot going on" 

"I had no excuse though, and I've always regretted it" She confesses.

"Well, I'm here now" 

"Yes you are" A smile begins to form on her face.

"And I'm glad to be here with you" He smiles back at her.

"How can you not be mad at me? I just completely stopped talking to you out of nowhere" Christine didn't know why she was continuing with this topic.

"Christine we were so young and you were going through the most awful thing if anything I feel bad for not pushing to stay in your life more to help you during that awful time" 

Christine grabbed his hand and shook her head "You did nothing wrong, there's nothing you could have done. I wasn't going to let anyone in during that time"

"And I don't blame you, I could never be mad at you for that. I completely understand why you did what you did" He caresses her hand with his thumb.

"How are you so kind?"

He shyly smiles "I'm reacting to what happened just as any decent person would"

"I am truly sorry though, It was just the hardest time in my life and I had no idea how to react"

"Christine, you do not have to apologize" He kisses her hand "I understand"

When she looked at him she could not understand why her Angel was trying to rob her of this. She knew she had to focus on her career but to have Raoul beside while she did that would make everything easier for her. He was good to her and always had been. Her music was her life, but maybe her heart had room for more.

"Thank you" She says softly.

His eyes glanced over to a shelf she had and he noticed that on the shelf was a red scarf. His heart warmed up at the thought that it could be the one he had recused from the sea.

"Is that?" He asked pointing to it.

She looked over at what he was referring to and then went back to him "Yes it is"

"You kept it" He got up and went over to it.

She followed him "Of course I did, I couldn't get rid of it especially after all the trouble you went through to get it back"

He smiled at her and picked up the scarf. He remembered how distraught she looked when her scarf flew into the water and how much he hated to see her look sad so without thinking he went into the water to go fetch it. She gave him a kiss on the cheek as a way to show her gratitude and his heart still fluttered at the memory.

He turned to her and put the scarf around her, the sight of the scarf on her overwhelmed him with so many emotions he feared his heart would stop.

It was in this moment that Raoul realized that he loved Christine, that his 14-year-old self wasn't being dramatic, that he truly did always love Christine. He would keep that to himself for now, in case it would ruin everything.

"Beautiful" He whispers.

She looks at him and she also knows deep in her heart that she loves this man, she wished she didn't she wished she could stop the feeling, but it was impossible. Her heart always belonged to him and there was nothing that could be done about it.

She leaned in and kissed him. They were more experienced now, but what had not changed was that it was a kiss full of love.

Raoul was surprised at first but began to kiss her back right away. He did not imagine Christine would make the first move, but he did not mind. She was more than welcome too.

He stayed the night, but they never went any further than kissing. They laid on her bed talking till 1 am and eventually fell asleep in each other's arms.

Both of them were the happiest they had ever been in a long time.


	6. Chapter 6

Christine woke up with her head resting on Raoul's chest, both of them wearing the clothes they had on last night. She removed herself from him and blushed at the fact that there was a boy in her bed and couldn't imagine what Meg was gonna say.

Raoul began to wake up and looked surprised for a second to see Christine, but then smiled.

"Hey," He said and his voice sounded low and raspy.

"Hi, how'd you sleep?" She asked

"Great," He grinned "How about you?"

"Pretty good." A blush began to form on her cheeks, she felt awkward and giddy at the same time.

There was a pause before Raoul finally spoke "Um, I've never been good at these conversations, but like what are we now?" 

"What?" Is all Christine could bring herself to say. She also wasn't good at these conversations, especially now since she knew exactly what she wanted, but wasn't sure she could let herself have it.

Raoul sat up and seemed a little nervous by her response "I mean we did kiss last night."

"Oh yeah, I'm sorry about that," She told him.

"Sorry? Why are you sorry?" He looked completely confused.

"You don't regret it?"

"Not at all, do you?" His eyes filled with fear.

Christine paused "No, I don't regret it at all."

He gave her a relieved smile "So, what are we then?"

She shrugged "I'm not sure."

He nodded "That's fine, we can be whatever you want us to be."

"Really? I mean what do you want us to be?" She asked him.

"Whatever you want," He told her honestly.

Christine rolled her eyes and moved closer to him "You can be honest with me"

He laughed "I am being honest with you. Christine all I want is to be apart of your life, and you can choose whatever role you want me to be"

"You mean that?" She questioned.

"I do, it's your choice," He took her hand and pressed a kiss upon it "I'm happy to just be around you."

Christine took a moment to think. She knew she loved Raoul, and wanted nothing more than to be with him, the only thing holding her back is her Angel of music. Her Angel trusted her and she betrayed him, but she could not control herself with Raoul

She looked down at their hands that were intertwined "Why me? I mean you're so wonderful you could have any girl you want, so why choose somebody who doesn't even know what they want"

He affectionally squeezed her hand "Christine, there is no better than you. You stole my heart the minute we met and that's that."

She wanted to tell him that she felt the same way, but the words were not coming out. She was too frightened of the consequences of saying them, that once she said them her Angel would be gone without a goodbye.

"Raoul you must know, that my first and true love is music. That I dedicate myself to my music, so if you were to be together than you would have to share me in some way." She tried to explain it the best she could. 

"I support whatever you wanna do, music is your passion and always has been I don't expect you to put that aside for anybody."

"How are you so good?" She asks.

He shakes his head and smiles "You make me good."

She really wanted to tell him that she loves him, she knew she couldn't, but she still felt it.

"I think right now let's just enjoy what we have," She tells him.

"I can do that" He happily agrees.

"Cool." Christine tries to say casually while containing her smile.

"I actually have to leave, I have classes soon. Maybe we can see each other tonight?" He asks.

"I'd like that" Christine answers.

"How about coming to my dorm tonight?" He offers.

"I suppose it's only fair since the last two nights you've come to my place" 

"Great! So I can pick you up after rehearsal?" He asks.

Her face pales. Well, she wanted to agree to that, it just felt too dangerous far too close to her Angel. She couldn't agree.

"Um, I can just take the bus" She insisted.

He looked confused "What? No way, I can give you a ride I don't mind"

'Dammit' she thought, Raoul was far too much of a gentleman to just let this go and she knew she didn't wanna cancel the plans.

"Why can't you just pick me up here?" She tries to compromise.

"I guess I can do that" He still looked confused.

"Ok great, see you tonight" She kissed his cheek.

Raoul gave her a lovesick look and seemed to already forget her puzzling behavior from only a few seconds ago.

When they went outside Christine's room they saw Meg who looked very surprised to see Raoul.

"Hey Meg" He greets her awkwardly.

"How's it going Raoul," She asks, trying to hide her smirk.

"Great, I gotta go because I have classes," He says and then turns to Christine "I'll miss you"

She smiles "I'll miss you too" 

"Oh get a room" Meg groans and they both laugh.

"See you tonight" He kisses Christine's head and then looks at Meg "Nice seeing you Meg"

"You too," She tells him as he leaves.

Once Raoul leaves Meg turns to Christine with a very shocked look "Oh my god what happened?"

Christine rolled her eyes "Nothing happened."

"He stayed the night, something happened!"

"Ok we did kiss, but that's all. We just ended up talking until we fell asleep" Christine explained and went over to sit on the couch.

Meg sat down next to her "Ok so you guys kissed that's something. Are you guys like official now?"

Christine sighed "Well no, he said he'd leave it up to me and that we can be whatever I want us to be"

Meg furrowed her eyebrows "Well, what do you want you guys to be?"

"I don't know."

Meg shook her head "I think you do know, you're just scared"

"Maybe I am" She admitted. She knew she was scared, just not for the reasons Meg thought.

"Allow yourself to be young and happy Christine, just go for it." Meg encouraged.

"I have to get ready for work, see you at rehearsal," She told her friend as she went back into her room to get ready.

Christine looked at herself in the mirror and smiled at the sight of her red scarf. She remembered how not long ago it was so simple, it was just her and her Angel. Now there was Raoul, back in her life although now it feels like he never left. Perhaps she could convince her Angel that having Raoul in her life would be a good thing, she just needed to find the right time and the courage to do so.

...

Christine and Meg were not needed during one of the scenes during rehearsal so they sat and talked to each other, then they overheard Madame Giry talking to the manager, Mr. Lefevre and it caught their attention.

"We have a new patron," Mr.Lefevre tells her.

Madame Giry raises an eyebrow "Who?"

"His name is Raoul De Chagny," he informs her "He is very rich."

Christine and Meg look at each other with the same surprised expression.

"Excuse me sir" Christine went over to him and he looked confused.

"Yes?"

"Who is this new patron?" She asks again wanting to make sure she heard him right.

"Raoul De Chagny," He says again "Do you know him?"

Madame Giry looked at Christine with curiosity and Christine shook her head "No sir"

Meg turned to her in confusion "Christine what are you talking about?"

"Shush," She told Meg quickly. 

"Ah ok" Is all Mr. Lefevre said in response and turned away from them.

Christine began to walk away and Meg followed.

"Why would you lie?" Meg asks and Christine's patience is wearing thin.

"Please stop" Christine pleads. 

This only made Meg more confused "Christine what is it?"

"We'll talk later" She promises and Meg can do nothing, but accept.

Christine wondered why Raoul would become a patron, was it only to impress her? She didn't know, but she couldn't have Meg talking about him to anyone the Angel would hear it no doubt.

The idea of her Angel just knowing of Raoul's existence frightened her. Will he say anything about her reaction to his name? The dread of hearing him later made the rehearsal drag on.

When rehearsal finally ended she slowly approached the dressing room. She felt similar to how she originally would feel when these lessons just started, very timid, and not knowing what to expect.

"Hello, Angel." She greeted.

"Hello, my dear," He responded right away "How are you?"

"I am well." She answers.

"So my theater has a new patron" He comments.

"Yes, I believe I heard that," She said, her face paling. Fearing what was going to come next.

"I saw you become interested once you heard his name. Raoul De Changy was it?" he asked.

The fact that he remembered Raoul's name unsettled her "Yes, I believe so"

"Why did this name peak your interest?" He questions her.

A part of her wondered if she should confess to her relationship with her Raoul right now and promise that their relationship would not affect her music and that it's even made her more passionate. Yet, she does not have the nerve.

"I use to go to school with a boy with that name" Is all she told him, which is not a lie.

"Interesting," He remarks "Does this boy mean anything to you?"

She felt a moment of panic when she realized she had no idea how to answer this question. She hated lying to her Angel, but what choice does she have?

"Not really, no" She lies.

"Good," He says "Remember how I told you, you must not have any distractions"

"Of course" 

"Now that we've gotten that out of the way, let's begin our lesson," He told her.

Once the lesson finished and Christine left Erik was left to ponder about the conversation they had.

He hoped this Raoul wouldn't get in the way of anything, he wondered if Christine lied to him about the boy not meaning anything, but he brushed the thought away. His Christine was a good honest girl, she would not lie to him.

Erik just knew he could not have Raoul coming in to ruin the process he had made, especially now that there is a chance that Christine may return his affections. That boy needs to stay far away from his angel or he would have to take action.

...

When Christine went home she saw Meg sitting on the couch with her arm crossed and when she saw Christine she gave her a suspicious look.

"Hey, Meg" Is all she said.

"What was up with you today?" Meg made her way over to her.

"I just don't want you to bring up Raoul while at work," She tells her.

"Why?" She furrowed her eyebrows.

"Because we aren't official yet or anything and I just don't want people knowing about it" She felt like that was a good enough lie.

"If it's just us talking I don't see the big deal," Meg tells her, still confused.

"Someone could be listening" Christine knew that for a fact.

"Who?"

"Carlotta! She could spread a rumor that I'm sleeping with the patron to steal her part" Christine came up with on spot.

"Carlotta barely knows we exist" Meg crossed her arms over her chest.

"But she certainly would if she overheard that"

"Eh fine whatever, I think you're acting weird over nothing though," Meg said as she went back to the couch.

"Just promise me you won't mention him" Christine pleads.

"Fine I won't" Meg reluctantly agrees.

"Anyways, Raoul will be here soon to pick me up. We're gonna hang out at his dorm" She tells her.

"You staying the night?" Meg asks.

"Probably, I'm bringing my toothbrush just in case" Christine knew she didn't wanna go any further than kissing, but she wouldn't mind just sleeping over as he did last night.

"Have fun" Meg tells her.

"I'll try," Christine says, and then she sees a text from Raoul saying he's here "Gotta go!"

She walks out and goes downstairs to see Raoul waiting in his car, he waves to her when she sees him and she smiles and goes over.

"Hey," She says as she gets in the car "You know I kinda feel bad for making you drive from your dorm to pick me up just to go back to you dorm so if you want we just hang out at my place"

"That's fine, I actually want you to see my dorm," Raoul told her.

"Oh then that's cool," She says as he begins to drive.

"How was your day?" He asks her.

"Good, I actually heard something interesting today"

"Oh?"

"Our theater has a new patron" She watches his expression carefully, there is no real reaction.

"Oh really?"

"His name Is Raoul De Chagny" 

He laughs "I didn't think they'd tell everyone. Not that it was a secret or anything"

"I overheard our manager tell someone" She informs him "Why did you do it?"

"I swear I did it out of love for theater. I mean in a way I did it because of you because I wouldn't have known of this place if it wasn't for you, but when you told me how sometimes it struggles with money I figured since I have the ability to help then I will help. " He says to her and she can tell he's telling her the truth.

"Well, that is very nice"

"By the way, I cannot wait to see you and Meg on that stage," He tells her.

"I am nervous, I hope I don't disappoint," Christine says shyly. 

"You could never disappoint," He says "I remember when we did the wizard of oz together in seventh grade"

Christine giggled at the memory "I was Dorothy and you were my scarecrow!"

"You were wonderful, I, on the other hand, was not" Raoul admits.

Christine shakes her head at his comment "You were wonderful too"

"I only did it to make you happy, musicals are just not my thing" 

"I wouldn't have had any other scarecrow," She tells him truthfully and he gives her a sweet smile.

Christine realized how while music was her whole world to Raoul it was merely something to enjoy. As much as he liked the arts he'd never be able to understand her passion, but it didn't make her love him any less. What did matter to her is how much he deeply respected her passion and that was more than enough for her.

When they arrived Christine looked around at Raoul's room and felt somewhat jealous, she often wished she was in college, but she didn't have the time or money for it.

"You like it? If I'm being honest it normally is not this clean, but I made an effort for you" He confesses to her.

"That is adorable" She giggles and kisses him a kiss on the cheek.

"I'll go make us dinner, is pasta ok?" He asks her.

"Absolutely" She was glad he was beginning to make dinner because she hadn't eaten in hours.

Raoul made dinner and as she watched him her mind drifted towards her Angel. What would he think of this? Her in a boy's dorm room. He'd be so angry and disappointed.

"You ok?" Raoul asks while pouring the pasta in their bowls.

"What?" It took her to process what he just asked "I mean oh yeah I'm fine"

"Alright, well dinner is ready," He says and hands her, her bowl.

They eat dinner and talk about their days and joke around. One of the main reasons Christine wanted to keep Raoul in her life so badly was that he brought out some of her old self again. That young girl who was so carefree and excited about life, that girl had left the minute her father died, but Raoul was able to bring her out once again. Her Angel gave her the motivation to go on and to continue living for the sake of making her father proud, but Raoul made her feel alive again.

After they finished dinner Raoul began to blush and asked her "Do you want to stay the night? We don't have to do anything and if you want I'll drive you home."

"I'd like to stay over, although I didn't bring any PJs" She let out an awkward laugh.

"If you want you can borrow one of my shirts" He offered, his face still flushed.

"Sure." She accepted.

He handed her one of his t-shirts and she went into the bathroom to change in it and she also brushed her teeth while in there.

She looked at herself in the mirror and couldn't repress a smile when she realized she was wearing Raoul's shirt. At that moment she realized that she should make her and Raoul's relationship official, if they were going to act like a couple then might as well be a couple.

When she walked back in Raoul seemed flustered at the sight of Christine in his shirt "Um, wow, you... You look great"

She looked down and smiled "Thank you"

She sat down on his bed and Raoul went into the bathroom to brush his teeth and get ready for bed. She decided that she was going to tell him now she wanted him to be her boyfriend.

He walked in and Christine felt nervous, but she knew what she wanted "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course" He sits down next to her.

"I think I want you to be my boyfriend, If that's alright with you" She looked down at her hands. She wasn't use to this kind of thing and felt a little out of her comfort zone.

He looked in disbelief "Really?"

"What? Do you not want to be my boyfriend?" She asks, her fear getting the best of her.

He quickly shook his head "No! I want to be your boyfriend, I'd love to be your boyfriend"

Her mouth broke into a smile "Alright, so we're official now"

Raoul could not stop his grin "I guess we are"

He did not give her a chance to say anything before his lips were on hers. At that moment nothing else mattered, it was just the two of them. Christine could only pray that it would be able to last.


	7. Chapter 7

Christine and Raoul had been dating for a week, and Christine couldn't have been happier. He'd often visit her at work and he would talk to her about his classes and would sometimes teach her some of the things he had learned. What made her even happier was the fact that her Angel seemed to have no idea at all, he never seemed suspicious. She got to continue her relationship with Raoul and still have her lessons with her Angel, she was living the best of both worlds.

Although she must admit she was plagued with dreams of her Angel, this wasn't unusual, but it seemed to be happening more than before. Sometimes the dreams were magical where she only heard his beautiful voice as she was transported into a different new world where there was only them and their music, other times she was able to see his shadow but not him, and sometimes she saw him, but he was just a man and other times he was her own father. Although as of lately the dreams begin to turn into nightmares, where their world of music is no longer magical but suffocating. It's like she is under his control and there is no way out, and then she wakes up in sweats.

Christine shook the thoughts of those dreams away, she and Meg were currently at rehearsal and Madame Giry was currently getting annoyed with them for missing a step or two. Christine knew she had to get her head in the game because tech week was in 1 week.

Christine stops when she sees Mr. Lefevre walk in with two other men, one tall and thin who was wearing a coat made of fur, and the other man was short and fat with a funny-looking mustache. Christine and Meg looked at them with curiosity.

"Do you know them?" Meg asks.

"Nope," Christine tells her.

Madame Giry hits the stage with her cane to get everyone's attention and Mr. Lefevre gives his thanks to her.

"Now I know there have been rumors of my imminent retirement. I can now tell you these rumors were all true," everyone breaks out into whispers and Carlotta claims that she knew it "I have with me the new managers of our lovely little theater Gillies André," he gestures to the man who had the fur coat, "and Richird Firmin." the short man gives a little wave.

Mr. Lefevre introduces them to Carlotta, and they both gush over her and Mr. Andre begs for her to sing a little just to give a sneak peek.

Christine had to admit that she did truly enjoy Carlotta's voice, and didn't understand why her Angel was so against her. Although she'd admit that her acting did need some real improvement. 

In the middle of her singing, a piece of their set comes flying down and almost lands on Carlotta luckily she was able to move out of the way in time. The room erupts into a panic.

Meg grabs Christine's arm "It's him, the phantom!" 

Christine wanted to assure her there was no phantom, yet she could not. All she could do is shake her head but she said no words. A part of her wondered if her Angel was to blame for this, but she couldn't believe that. Something from the heavens wouldn't do this.

"Buquet get down here!" Lefevre yells and turns to Andre and Firmin "Master of the flies. He is responsible for this." 

When Buquet comes down he is met with an angry Lefevre but doesn't seem fazed "As god as my witness I was not at my post"

Everyone begins to whisper and Meg's grip on Christine's arm tightened. It unnerved Christine to see her friend afraid, Meg was normally never afraid.

"There's no one there, and if there is it must be a ghost!" He shouts and everyone begins to be visibly freaked out.

"He's there, the phantom" Meg shudders, and Christine feels at a loss in how to comfort her.

Andre ignores the ghost talk and goes to Carlotta "Miss Carlotta you must understand these things do happen"

Carlotta gave him a deathly glare "Yes, these things do happen! For an entire year, these things have been happening! And he never did anything" She points to Lefevre who puts his head down "Well until you stop these things from happening, this thing will not happen!" She storms off with her loyal Piangi following her.

Andre and Firmin seemed stunned and confused before Andre finally spoke up "Well does she have an understudy?"

"Yes she does, Christine Daae," Madame Giry told them.

"What?" Christine looked at them and Meg pushes her towards them.

"You?" Firmin looks her up and down.

"I haven't had much rehearsal," Christine told them, which was true. Carlotta never let her understudies rehearse, but she has practiced the part with her Angel.

"Let us hear you sing," Andre told her and Christine nodded.

Meg gave her a smile and a thumbs up for support. Christine isn't used to having all these eyes on her to hear her sing and her alone. When she begins singing it is very quiet and barely anyone can hear her, she is about to run off Madame Giry strikes her cane on the stage which makes her stop.

She wants so badly for this just to be a nightmare, how could she want to be a singer when she can't even sing in front of anyone? Then she decided she was not singing for them, no, she was singing for him, for her Angel. This gives her the confidence boost she so desperately needed and she is able to sing the song perfectly.

"Well, I guess there's nothing to worry about," Andre says happily.

Everyone in the room begins to clap for her, and Meg ran to her to give her a big hug. Yet Christine didn't care about any of it, she only wondered what her Angel thought.

They immediately begin to teach Christine the blocking, and Christine looks over to see the new managers talking to Madame Giry, she's holding a note in her hand and they look very annoyed and confused. Christine wondered what it was about.

After rehearsal had ended Christine went up into the dressing room as always to talk to her Angel.

"Did you see me, Angel, did you see what happened?" She asks when she already knows the answer.

"Yes I did, you must be very excited my dear." 

"I'm not sure, I'm nervous, but I also feel like Carlotta will be back," Christine admits.

"I wouldn't worry about that. This is your time to shine Christine, to show everyone your true potential" He tells her.

"What did you think of me? I know I didn't start off very strong, but then I thought of you and I felt ok" Christine desperately wanted his approval.

"You sounded beautiful, you have made your Angel very happy. But, you still have much more to learn," He says "That is why I am here to teach you, to help"

"I am forever in your debt" She swears.

"You shall reward me by performing," he says "My spirit lives within your voice"

Christine was confused by his statement, was that the only one he'd ever be able to express himself? Through her? Sometimes she wondered if she was the only one who could hear his voice and so the only way for his genius to be heard is through her.

"Angel, what do you think of the rumors of the ghost?" She asks him, suddenly remembering the incident from today.

"I don't know, do you believe in ghosts?" He asks her and she's confused why he won't answer her.

"No." She answers.

"But, you believe in Angels?" 

She wonders the point in even asking that "Well yes, I mean how can I not when I hear you" 

"What's the difference between a ghost and an angel?"

"Well, angels are good" She chuckles a little, mostly out of nerves and confusion.

"Have you ever met a ghost?" He asks.

"Um, no" She begins to fiddle with her hands.

"How do you know ghosts aren't good then?"

"Well, if there is a ghost here as Meg claims then they're certainly not good," She remarks.

He paused "What makes you say that?"

"They tried to drop something on Carlotta, and this isn't the first time something like this has happened," Christine said as tho it was obvious.

"Everyone has their motives" Is all he says.

Christine pales, the suspicion she had of her Angel being behind all of this growing stronger despite how much she wished to ignore it.

"A-are you... Are you a ghost?" She waited in fear for his answer.

"I am your Angel" Is his only reply.

She nods at his answer, but still feels uneasy. 

"Let's get started, now you can no longer tell me that rehearsing this part is pointless" He teases and she gives him a weak chuckle.

Her worries begin to slip away as she sings and focuses only on the music. Yet, her anxiety comes back after their lesson has ended she wishes to forget and focus on something else, but it felt like her Angel was inside her mind and he would not leave. She didn't know if she wanted him to leave.

...

Christine went home and Meg excitedly greeted her and gave her a high five the minute she walked in.

"You're the lead now!" Meg said happily.

Christine smiled and shook her head "I'm sure Carlotta will be back soon enough"

"She seemed pretty spooked I don't think she'll be back anytime soon. I guess the phantom is looking out for you" Meg joked, but it made Christine's stomach drop.

Christine also wondered how Meg could joke so easily about the Phantom now despite being so fearful during rehearsal. 

She gave a weak laugh "Yeah I guess"

"You're gonna be amazing," Meg tells her.

"Thank you," Christine says "Also, what was your mother talking to the managers about? She had a note she looked like she was reading to them"

"Don't know," Meg shrugged and then gasps "What if it's about the ghost and they need to pay him his salary and have the balcony seats reversed for him"

"The balcony seats?" Christine asked in confusion.

"Have you ever noticed that there's never anyone sitting in the balcony?" Meg asks.

Christine scoffed "It has nothing to do with a ghost it's because not enough people go to see our shows to fill up every seat"

"It's suspicious, I heard they don't even offer balcony seat tickets," 

"This is silly, but anyways I forgot to tell you that Raoul is coming over" She informs her.

"Does he know you're gonna be the lead yet?" Megs.

"Nope, I'll tell him when he gets here" 

"He's gonna be so excited for you" Meg smiles.

Christine gives her a thin smile and nods. She felt anxiety about the fact that Raoul was going to see the show, because of how close that would be to her Angel she just had to make sure she and Raoul would not interact while in the theater.

When Raoul did arrive he greeted her with a hug and a kiss. She felt her worries wash away at the sight of his smiling face. 

"I have news," 

"What's up?" He asks.

"Carlotta got upset today and decided to quit, which means I have the lead role now," She tells him, but continues speaking before he can talk "But, she'll probably be back so let's not get too excited"

"How can I not get excited? Christine this is wonderful!" He gave her a big kiss "You're gonna be so amazing"

Christine couldn't stop the smile forming on her face, maybe she really was excited.

"Thank you, it's just insane I never thought Carlotta would step down," Christine says as they went over to sit on the couch.

"Why did she step down?" He asks and puts his arm around Christine.

"So basically our old manager has retired and we have two new ones, so Carlotta began to sing for them, but then a piece of our set almost fell on her. This has happened before and she had enough and left" Christine explained.

"Wow, well I hope she's ok," Raoul states "So you have two new managers?"

"Yes, Andre and Firmin I believe is their names," Christine tells him.

"Interesting," He says and then smiles "Well nevermind all that, this is your moment! We can celebrate tomorrow night if you want, we can go out for dinner!"

"That sounds lovely" Christine agreed.

The young couple spent the rest of the night watching tv and cuddling.

...

Raoul was more excited than ever to see Christine perform soon, he put up fliers of the show at his school and told all his classmates that he had become friends with to come and see it, they told him they would and he hoped they were telling the truth.

He actually had to go to the theater after class because the new managers wished to meet their most rich patron. He decided since he was going there he'd surprise Christine he bought her flowers and a box of macarons.

When he arrived he saw they were having a little break, but Christine and Meg were still on the stage talking.

"Christine!" He shouted as he ran towards her.

He saw her face fell, he assumed she was just surprised. 

"What are you doing here?" Christine asked she didn't look happy though she looked terrified.

"Um, the new managers wanted to meet me and so I decided to surprise you" He gave an awkward laugh as he offered her the macarons and flowers which in response she backed up.

"Aw that's so cute" Meg commented.

"You shouldn't be here, you need to leave" Her voice was barely above a whisper.

"Christine, what are you talking about?" Raoul asked, and looked at Meg to see if she knew what was up, but he could tell by her expression she was just as confused.

"You have to go." She demanded.

"Can't a guy visit his girlfriend?" He asks and she looked at him like he just said something horribly offensive.

"Christine, what is going on?" Meg asks her.

"Raoul, you must leave" She begged him.

"What is the matter, Christine I've never seen you so frightened" He felt an overwhelming amount of concern.

The lights flickered for a moment and Christine put her hand over her mouth in disbelief and shook her head.

"What? It was just a problem with the power probably, what's going on?" Raoul was beginning to feel desperate to know.

"Christine do you need water?" Meg asked, wanting to be able to help in any way.

"Raoul, please leave," She said louder this time which made some people glance their way.

"I have to meet with the managers first, please tell me we'll talk tonight" Raoul gently asked.

She just nodded in response, her face remaining emotionless.

"Do you want these?" Raoul asked holding up the flowers and macarons 

She only shook her head in response and he gave her a sad nod. When he did talk to the managers it was brief and his mind was elsewhere.

What had made his Christine so afraid? Maybe she was embarrassed by his public display of affection. The only thing he could do was wait until tonight and talk to her.

...

Erik's lair was a mess, in his rage, he kicked and broke anything that he could, not knowing how else to deal with his emotions.

She swore she wouldn't get involved with a boy, and she broke that promise. He knew she did, he referred to himself as her boyfriend and she did not correct him.

He couldn't believe she had betrayed him, his Christine had betrayed him. He had given her everything he could and this is how she repaid him.

But worst of all he couldn't believe how stupid he was, he convinced himself that she had fallen in love with him. Maybe she could have fallen for him if it wasn't for that stupid boy. He came in and ruined everything, but yet he couldn't blame him. How could anyone not fall in love with Christine?

"Oh, Christine" He cried.

Maybe it wasn't too late, maybe she could still fall in love with him. He just has to force her to get rid of that boy and then introduce himself to her not as Angel, but as a man. He knew he had to introduce himself after she performs because otherwise, it might mess with her head. But he knew she had to get rid of that boy right away or else he doesn't know what he'll do.

...

Christine refused to answer any of Meg's questions, and despite Meg's frustration she eventually dropped it.

Now that it was the end of rehearsal she knew she had to face her Angel, one part of her considered running away and going to Raoul and never returning to this theater, but she could not. Despite her fear she could not leave her Angel like she said today she is forever in his debt.

"H-hello...Angel?" There was silence for a few moments and Christine almost left before she heard his voice.

"What does that foolish boy mean to you?" His voice demanded.

"You heard" She whispered to herself. She already knew he did, but she still prayed he didn't.

"Of course I heard, now explain to me what has been going on and do not lie to me" He sounded angrier than she had ever heard him.

"I told you before I knew a boy in school named Raoul De Chagny, well that's him, what I didn't tell you was that we were childhood sweethearts and recently I have reunited with him" She confessed.

"He said he was your boyfriend"

Tears began to burn in Christine's eyes "Yes, he is"

"For how long?" 

"Officially a week"

"You will break up with him immediately" He commanded her.

Her heart dropped, she was loyal to her Angel, but she did truly love Raoul and the idea of ending something so special to her broke her heart.

"Angel you don't understand, you might have been wrong about romance being a distraction. My relationship with him does not distract me if it had you would have noticed! If anything-"

"Silence!" He screamed at her "You dare question me? After all that I have done for you?"

"Master, that isn't what I meant please-" 

"You are mine! You live for me! You sing for me! All you shall do is for me!" His voice was so loud and powerful it shook the room. "Understood?"

"I-i, I understand" She barely could breathe, tears were freely falling down her face.

There was deafening silence and Christine felt like she was going to faint until she heard him speak again

"Do you love him?" He asked and was met with silence

"Why does it matter?" She responded in a soft defeated tone.

"I want to know" His voice becoming louder and more demanding again.

"Yes! Yes, I love him" She finally shouted.

Once again there was utter silence until she heard something that sounded like muffled sobs. Was her angel crying?

"Christine, why?" He cried.

"I'm sorry" Is all she could manage to say.

"You will break up with this boy tonight, or else you will face the consequences" He warned her.

Christine wondered what those consequences could be, she assumed it would mean he'd leave her, but what if it meant something else? She didn't wanna find out.

"Yes, master"

"Now go, there shall be no lesson today"

She nodded and left, but she still heard her angel's sobs as she walked out the door.


	8. Chapter 8

Christine's conflict now went deeper. At first, she just feared that her Angel would leave her, but now she feared her Angel might inflict harm upon to Raoul. She felt ashamed to think her Angel could be capable of such things, but he was just so angry, angrier than she had ever heard him before. It was best to be safe rather than sorry. 

When Christine got home she was surprised to see Raoul sitting on her couch "What are you doing here?"

"Meg let me in," He tells her as begins to walk over to her "We were both confused by what happened today."

"Yeah, we need to talk," Christine says with a serious yet quiet tone.

"Listen I was dumb I shouldn't have assumed you were ok with me visiting you like that, but let's not let this ruin our night. Tonight is about celebrating you!" He went to hold her hand, but she pulled away before he could, his face fell "What's wrong?"

She desperately wanted to tell him nothing was wrong and to go with dinner with him and forget everything, but she couldn't. She knew she couldn't.

"I think we should break up." She held back tears.

The pain expressed in his face stab her heart like daggers "What?"

"I don't think we should see each other anymore,"

"What? Why? Is it because of today? I'm sorry, I am. I was just being stupid, we can't throw this away over that," His eyes held so much confusion and desperation. 

"I just think maybe we rushed into this" She lied. 

He shook his head "No, no! Christine, I haven't been this happy in so long, and I know you feel that way too, I see it in your eyes I feel like it in your kisses. Please do not do this," 

She was trying so hard to fight the tears, but she was unable to. She hated this so much, and her heart cursed her angel for making her do this.

"Raoul, it's for the best," She tried to tell him.

"For the best? For who? Where did this come from? everything was going great!" Tears of frustration and hurt burned in his eyes.

Christine felt intense guilt, how could she have made both her Angel and the man she loved cry tonight?

"I'm not ready for a relationship, I can't focus on one." She looked away, she couldn't stand seeing the tears in his eyes.

"Christine, I can't lose you," He cried "I love you, it's true I love you!"

She couldn't stop the tears now, she yearned to say those words back to him but could not. Oh, how unfair her life was.

"Raoul, I do not love you." She lies to him, she hates lying to him.

There is a terrible silence, both of them silently crying until Raoul gains his composure. 

"Why were you so frightened today?" He looks up at her.

"I don't like PDA," Is all she should come up with.

"You don't mind when I visit you at your other job. You were afraid Christine, you weren't embarrassed, you seemed to fear for your life," He says like he's finally putting the puzzle together, but is missing the most important piece "Who or what made you so afraid?"

"Raoul please leave" She begs, she can't think of any more lies.

"What are you so afraid of? Christine whatever it is we can get through it together, I love you." He grabs her hand and she lets him hold it for a moment before pulling away.

"I think you should leave." Is all she said.

He shook his head "Don't shut me out again, please don't shut me out again."

"Raoul, I am doing what is best and I think it's best that you leave," She told him again.

"Why were you afraid?" He asks again and she is silent "Christine what is going on? What can't you tell me?"

She felt too much stress, she was going to go insane. All she wanted to do was confess to Raoul or honestly anybody about what was going on, but she couldn't she could not betray her angel. She would not do it.

"Raoul leave!" She shouted.

He stared at her for a moment, tears brimming his eyes "Ok I'll leave now, but this isn't over, there's something going on and I'm not going to make the same mistakes I did before."

She closed her eyes and let her tears fall, she felt exhausted and just wished Raoul would accept this. His heart was too good and too full of love to just let it go though, maybe in time, he'll give up.

When she opened her eyes she noticed he was gone, now she couldn't stop her sobs.

Raoul would eventually move on and find a beautiful girl who was worthy of him and she'd be a lonely spinster dedicated to the voice within her dressing room.

That night Christine went to bed crying while hugging her red scarf

...

When Christine emerged from her room the next morning she was met with Meg's concerned face.

"Christine, what happened?" She asks.

Christine's eyes were red and puffy from all her crying, and she had bags under her eyes from lack of sleep. She fell asleep at a certain point but had a terrible dream. She dreamt that she was on a very tight leash, and she saw Raoul in danger and she tried to go to him, but when she tried to run to him the leash kept pulling her back and began to suffocate her. Then she woke up, and couldn't fall back asleep. 

"Raoul and I broke up." 

Meg's widen "What? Why?"

Christine kept an emotionless expression "I'm not ready for a relationship,"

"Does this have to do with him visiting you during rehearsal? What was-"

Christine interrupts her "Stop. I told you why, end of story."

Meg sighed "Christine, what are you doing? Let yourself be happy!"

"I said end of story," Christine told her sternly.

"You're making a mistake," 

"Raoul will be better off without me." 

"What are you talking about?" Meg couldn't believe what her friend was saying "The man is crazy about you!"

Christine remembered how Raoul had confessed his love for her last night. Every time she mentioned him confessing that not once did she think she wouldn't be able to say it back and it hurt her so deeply that she couldn't.

"He'll be ok." That is all Christine could manage to say.

"Christine-"

She interrupts her "Please, I do not want to speak of this anymore."

Meg sighed "I just think you might end up regretting this."

Christine said nothing in response. She didn't know what to say. She wonders if she regrets letting Raoul back in her life, she should have just listened to her Angel from the beginning he did give her a warning. But, those weeks with him her were the happiest she had been in so long, how can she regret those blissful weeks?

She'd do anything to relieve those weeks.

...

During rehearsal, she ignored Meg the entire time. Meg didn't make too much of an effort to talk with her either, but Christine did not attempt to talk to her in case she tried to bring up Raoul. She just couldn't handle it.

Christine decided that she was going to talk to her Angel about Raoul again, she remembered how much her father loved Raoul and he would certainly want her to be with him if it made her happy. The Angel probably didn't know that bit of information, so she hoped this might change things.

After rehearsal, she went to her dressing room as she always did.

"Angel?"

"I am here, child." He answers.

She had to admit she was happy to hear his voice, she wondered if he would abandon her for a certain amount of time as punishment. She was glad he didn't, she needed his guidance considering the show was approaching. 

"I broke up with Raoul." She tells him.

"Good. But, If I find out you are seeing him behind my back there will be consequences." He warns her again. His voice was much calmer than it was last time though.

"What does my father think of this? Because you see he loved Raoul and I feel like-"

"Your father agrees with me completely on this." The Angel tells her and her heart broke.

That was so unlike her father. He used to say he always imagined she'd marry Raoul, why wouldn't he want this? But, she knew her career was the top priority.

"Alright." 

"Now you did well during rehearsal, but I have a few notes for you..."

Christine listened to his notes and adjusted her performances, but nothing seemed to satisfy him, probably because her heart wasn't in it today.

All she wanted was to fall asleep in Raoul's arms and forget her own reality.

...

Over the next few days, Raoul attempted to get into contact with Christine but was met with silence. He was a mess without her and missed her terribly. He wanted to call his brother for comfort

But, he had gotten a message from Meg asking him to meet her in a park to talk and he did just that.

He sat on a bench and waited for her, feeling nervous and wondering why she needed to talk to him. Will it be about why Christine is so afraid or maybe she's gonna scold him and tell him to leave her best friend alone.

When he saw her he waved to her so she'd see him and she walked over to him then sat down next to him.

"So what's going on?" He asks her.

"I am worried about Christine, she hasn't been acting ok ever since you two broke you and it's more than just normal breakup sadness like crying and eating ice cream," She informs him.

He looks concerned "What is it?"

"She doesn't eat, and considering the deep bags under her eyes, I don't think she's been sleeping either," Meg explained, "I am worried about her, she doesn't only seem depressed, but she always seems so scared, especially at rehearsal she seems like she's always stepping on eggshells." 

He took a moment to process what she just told him "That day when I went to visit her, she looked terrified, and not like she was embarrassed, but like she was in danger."

"Do you think she is?" Meg asks, fear filling her eyes.

"I don't know, but her behavior that day was so unusual. " 

"And she's been acting weird ever since! I don't know what it is," 

"Me either, but I don't like the idea of her being so frightened." Raoul sighed.

"Do not laugh, but what if it has to do with the ghost?" Meg asks.

"The ghost?" He blinks.

"Remember we told you about the phantom that haunts the theatre, he is to blame for Carlotta leaving! Maybe he's trying to make Christine leave too!"

He shakes his head "There are no phantoms."

Meg rolled her eyes "Yes there is, when I asked my mother about it she could not answer me and she seemed afraid, my mother never gets afraid."

"Meg, your heart is in the right place, but Christine herself didn't believe in the Phantom."

"Maybe that's just what she tells us, did you see how fearful she got when the lights flickered? Maybe that was the phantom's doing. There is something sinister happening here I know it," 

Raoul didn't agree with the ideas of ghosts, he never believed in them, but he did agree that there was something sinister going on.

"Ghosts or not, our Christine is frightened and she must be protected."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Raoul and Christine are broken up for now :( but we also got a little one on one Raoul and Meg interaction, I feel like they'd be good friends and that scene was inspired by the lyric in notes when they sing "Christine must be protected!" together. Move over Erik Meg and Raoul are the real presidents of the Christine fanclub :)


End file.
